Sapphire Rain: AU Version
by Spunky0ne
Summary: When Byakuya's half-peasant cousin is viciously attacked and subjected to a banned, ancient rite, Byakuya will do anything to protect and avenge him...Warning, yaoi, Byakuya/OC-Tetsuya, suggestion of non-con sex, mpreg, angst.
1. Moonless Madness

**Sapphire Rain**

**By Spunky0ne**

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**(**_**This story was requested by the fabulous Walkure, whose great mind also concocted the plots for **__**Bearers of the New King**__**, **__**Who I am Inside**__** and **__**Two Ends of the Spectrum**__**. Thanks, Walkure, for all of your support! Thanks also to everyone reading and reviewing. And anyone else with an idea for a Bleach fic you're aching to read can feel free to PM. I am always willing to consider your ideas! **__**Just a note about the story…This one is AU and takes place just after Byakuya becomes clan leader and sixth division taichou. Also, in this AU, Byakuya never met Hisana. Instead, in this story, his heart is captured by a distantly related, lovely and blue-eyed half-breed cousin. If you loved Tetsuya in **__**Bearers of the New King**__** and its sequels, you will enjoy him here as he and Byakuya struggle against the prejudices of the noble class.)**_

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**Chapter 1: Moonless Madness**

"Tetsuya-san," said Torio, flash stepping to his cousin's side, "Word just arrived from the sixth division that Byakuya-sama will be late arriving home tonight. He says he regretfully was given extra preparations for security during the upcoming royal visit and he has to meet with Soutaichou and several council members."

"Arigato, Torio-kun," the head of manor security said, nodding, "I am not surprised it's taking longer than expected. Royal visits are always dicey matters security-wise."

He sighed softly.

"I think we all shall be working overtime as the time for the royal visit draws near."

"Hai," agreed Torio, "We always are."

He handed his cousin a cup of hot tea, then bowed respectfully.

"Good night, Tetsuya-san."

"Good night, Torio-kun."

The youth flash stepped away again, leaving Tetsuya standing alone in the gardens. He walked the garden trails, enjoying the sweet smells of the flowers, the soft sound of koi splashing in the pond and the touches of mist preceding the rain that would arrive later. He was just turning back towards the main wing, when suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes and the coal black face of a spirit steed poked through and nudged him. He smiled as the horse emitted a low whicker of greeting.

"Ah, Arashi," he said, smiling and rubbing the beast behind the ears, "Restless tonight, are you?"

He looked up at the cloudy, moonless sky and patted his mount on the long black neck.

"Me too," he said softly, "Not one for being superstitious, but we rarely see such a night. It makes me glad the royal visit is still weeks away. Things are tense enough around here as it is. Not that a brute like you would need to worry, but there are those of us who traverse more tenuous footing than you, my friend."

Arashi snorted and rubbed his face against Tetsuya's affectionately.

"Very well," he said quietly, "I will go back to the barn with you. Byakuya-sama has been kept late at work and I am not likely to fall asleep any time soon."

He surged onto the horse's bare back and laughed softly as the powerful stallion snorted and broke into a trot, heading back for the stables. Once they arrived, he slipped down from the horse's back and offered him a leisurely rubdown before filling his feed box and watching as he drank from his watering trough.

"Will there be anything else, your majesty?" the noble joked, laughing again as the horse snorted and blew sweet hay-scented breath at him, "Good. Well then, I'm off. Good night, Arashi."

The horse tossed his head and neighed softly. Tetsuya left the barn and returned to the trail that led back to the gardens, not noticing the dark form that moved to the barn door and closed and locked the black stallion inside. He did, however, notice the odd reiatsu that rose around him as the wind and mist blew down the trail and lightning flashed, preceding the coming storm. He paused for a moment, his hand straying to his zanpakutou. His sharp senses scanned the area but found nothing, just that touch of disturbed reiatsu.

He started to walk on, but gasped in surprise as flash steps sounded around him and dark, cloaked forms blocked his path in all directions. Their faces were masked, but they were definitely shinigamis, not hollows. He drew his weapon and extended his senses, waiting for the first to step in and strike. But he discovered quickly that the men were well prepared and that his abduction had been meticulously planned. The group struck as one, firing binding spells from all directions and quickly immobilizing him. He was bound and gagged, then someone leaned close to him and he felt the pinprick of an injection. And as Tetsuya's mind sank into darkness, two words reached him through the sound of thunder and the feeling of the first raindrops on his skin.

"_Half-breed!"_

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Byakuya looked up sharply as the door to the sixth division office was thrown open and a young courier from the manor burst in.

"Kuchiki-sama!" he panted, "You must come quickly! There has been an attack at the manor. Sir, your cousin, Tetsuya-san has been terribly injured!"

Byakuya was on his feet and flash stepping instantly. The space between the sixth division and Kuchiki Manor disappeared in a blur as Byakuya's mind spun and his heart pounded furiously. He ran through the front gates of the manor and was met by his attendant.

"Torio-kun," he said, stridently, "Where is my cousin?"

"In his chambers, sir," Torio answered in a trembling voice, "Our healer is with him. But, Kuchiki-sama, he is hurt very badly…"

Byakuya flash stepped away and down the walkway, out of the main wing and into the building next to it. He stopped in the doorway, staring at the devastating sight within the room.

His cousin was lain face down on the bed, his slender body bared and eerily lit with the healing green light that flared around the healer's hands. His long, black hair had been raggedly cut away and even in the odd, greenish light, Byakuya could see the heavy bruising that seemed to cover the young man's entire body. The clan leader's breath caught sharply and his reiatsu flared as he noticed the long, thick markings indicative of a heavy, bladed whip. And illness swept over him in a hard, choking throb as he spotted the blood on the back of one bruised thigh that signified a much more personal assault.

"Kuchiki-sama," the healer said, motioning for a second healer to take his place, "Let us go out into the gardens to talk."

Byakuya bit at his lip and nodded tersely, then followed the healer out into the gardens. They stood under the eaves as the rain pounded down and thunder boomed softly in the distance.

"Tell me what happened," Byakuya said in a low voice, "Tell me everything."

"Seiji, of the manor guard found Tetsuya-san unconscious on the eastern boundary of the grounds about an hour ago, Kuchiki-sama. He was alive, but near death. He appears to have been viciously beaten and sexually assaulted, but sir, he was also subjected to something unspeakable that I have heard of, but have never seen before."

"What do you mean?"

The healer hesitated, his face going pale and his body trembling at his own words.

"He was subjected to an old, forbidden ritual…one banned hundreds of years ago after it was found to be too dangerous, both for its effects on the ones it was inflicted on and because it was reportedly being forced on some nobles to ensure pure bloodlines. It was called…"

"The Breeders' Rite," Byakuya whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Y-you know of it?" the healer asked, meeting his eyes warily.

Byakuya managed a short nod.

"I have seen mention of it in the archives here."

"Oh, of course, sir."

"But I do not know the details. What can you tell me about it?" Byakuya asked, his reiatsu beginning to flare hotly around him.

The healer cringed.

"S-sir, the procedure began as a way of ensuring that noble lines would not be forced into impurity, even in the absence of a noble female. It involves the opening of the soul core and placement of a reiatsu chamber inside the body. At the same time, the reproductive capabilities of the person are neutralized so that he is able to gather the reiatsu of a strong shinigami and to be impregnated. The person can bear a shinigami child of equal power to the shinigami father, but can no longer father children himself."

The healer shivered as the clan leader's reiatsu rose sharply. Byakuya noticed the man's discomfort and, with an effort, eased the pressure.

"Go on," he said, more calmly.

"Kuchiki-sama, your cousin is in a complicated situation, because he is only half noble blooded. The Breeders' Rite also has, as part of it, an incantation and kido that is meant to assure that the child is pure blooded, even if the breeder is not. But even among nobles, pregnancy of that kind caused many deaths. And with one of impure blood, the kido used in the rite works against the non-noble blood, causing a much higher risk of death."

"But that is only if he is used for that purpose, ne?" queried Byakuya.

"Yes, but…"

"But what?" asked Byakuya, the feeling of illness returning.

"The ones who did this meant to ensure that Tetsuya-san died in this manner. The sexual assault was meant force reiatsu into the chamber."

"Are you saying…?"

"Your cousin would have become pregnant by the ones who assaulted him, and after the beating they gave him, he would not have survived the initial stages of impregnation. He would have died."

"Would have…then you have…?"

"I purged the reiatsu and tried to analyze it to find the culprits."

"And?"

"The reiatsu was perfectly masked. Kuchiki-sama, we are dealing with high level shingamis…people of great power."

"And noble, if they were able to invoke the Breeders' Rite," Byakuya added.

He studied the healer for a moment, then nodded.

"Arigato…for taking care of him," he said softly.

The healer glanced over his shoulder and through the garden doors at the unconscious man in the bed.

"He is a good man, Kuchiki-sama, very kind and loyal. It saddens me the way they have treated him…not allowed a surname or a proper place in the family…"

"I thought to shield him by bringing him to the manor," Byakuya said, gazing in at his cousin, "but even that has failed. Still, you were able to save him. Can you reverse the rite?"

The healer shook his head.

"No one ever has, so there is no information on how such a thing could be done. But you have not heard the worst, Kuchiki-sama."

Byakuya's face paled, but he kept his gaze steady.

"What is it?"

"Sir, the damage to your cousin's systems because of the attack and because of him being only half noble is extreme. The kido used in the rite not only affected his own reproductive ability, but it severely damaged his spirit centers. I have tried to repair them, using every method I know, but nothing has worked. And your cousin is barely able to generate the reiatsu to be able to tolerate being in Soul Society. If it was any lower, we would be forced to fit him with a permanent gigai and send him to the living world."

"You have to find a way to heal him," Byakuya said, looking into the old healer's eyes, "Michio, you are the most capable shinigami healer in Soul Society. If you cannot…"

"Sir, I cannot even tell you if your cousin will ever open his eyes again. And even if he does, he can no longer be called a shinigami. He is powerless and hasn't the reiatsu of a shinigami. His zanpakutou has disappeared…"

"Re-kuhime is…gone?"

Michio nodded.

"We have made him comfortable and we will, of course, do everything we can to restore him, but you understand what must be, if we fail."

Byakuya closed his eyes against the words.

"I understand," he said softly.

The healer put a hand on Byakuya's shoulder and gazed into his eyes.

"You must take care of yourself while you wait to learn his fate, Kuchiki-sama. I will have Noa bring you some tea and something to eat."

Byakuya nodded briefly as the healer released him and motioned for the assistant healer to leave Byakuya alone with Tetsuya. Byakuya walked slowly across the room, hearing the ghost of his cousin's pleasant voice and his easy laughter. He hadn't always been so lively. And now, it seemed, everything was about to come down around him. If he could not be healed, Tetsuya would no longer simply struggle because of his half-breed status. He couldn't even be considered a shinigami anymore.

It was as though the cousin he knew had died already.

When Tetsuya woke to learn his condition, there were no two ways about it. He would be dragged back down into the same darkness that Byakuya had found him in. The sad, sapphire blue eyes that had met his so long ago would return and the life would drain out of him. Byakuya sat down beside the bed, his heart a fiery blend of fury and desire for vengeance. He barely managed to hold the emotion down so that he wouldn't crush the vulnerable being lying in the bed in front of him, as the bits of memory fluttered through his spinning mind, replaying themselves.

_He walked forward at his father's side, his eyes respectfully lowered as he approached the two black clad figures who waited to greet them. They were distant cousins, and the deceased mother was a peasant, so neither she nor the child who stood beside the grieving man ahead of him were even allowed to wear the family name. But in such a situation, at fourteen, and as future leader of the clan, Byakuya had been instructed by his father and his grandfather that it was right to go and offer condolences. Whatever the man had done, this was no time to burden him with criticism about his choices. So he moved forward and as they reached the two, he looked up and found himself instantly mesmerized by the boy's large, sad eyes._

_Not the slate gray that marked his father and most of the Kuchiki nobles, but a bright sapphire blue. He must, Byakuya thought, have inherited them from his mother. His hair was like his father's. long and deep black, but with lovely soft waves instead of just being straight like his. He stood quietly at his father's side and greeted each of the guests as he was supposed to, but there was a distance in the gesture. He met Byakuya's eyes and his widened in recognition._

"_Good morning, Kuchiki-sama," he said in a soft, tired voice, "We are honored."_

"_Good morning, Tetsuya-kun," Byakuya replied solemnly, "We were grieved to hear of your loss."_

_Tetsuya nodded briefly, but said no more. Byakuya and his father and grandfather took their places for the funeral and Byakuya couldn't help but notice how as soon as he fell beneath notice again, the boy's shoulders drooped and his eyes lowered. And as soon as the service ended, he suddenly disappeared. He didn't see the boy again until later, when he heard the sounds of several other young, male relatives talking, and caught sight of Tetsuya concealing himself in some bushes nearby._

"_I don't know why we had to come here anyway…stinking peasants and half bloods!" one said in a bored tone._

"_He should be hanged for marrying beneath him and that little mongrel son of theirs should just be put out of all of our misery, ne?" said another._

"_Yes," agreed the first, "He might as well be buried with her, for all of the use he'll be."_

_Byakuya started forward, but froze for a moment at the sight of Tetsuya's clenched hands, the suddenly proud stature, the unusually strong reiatsu and the fury and pain in the boy's expression. Tetsuya's head turned suddenly and the large blue eyes came to rest on him. Instantly, his face took on a look of panic at having been seen. He shrank back, swallowing hard and brushing the angry tears from his face. _

"_It's okay," Byakuya mouthed, walking past him and blocking the view of him from the other boys._

_He frowned at the other boys and raised his reiatsu, making them step back in surprise._

"_B-byakuya-sama!" the oldest said._

_The others bowed dutifully._

"_Good day, Byakuya-sama."_

"_Hardly," said Byakuya in a low, angry tone, "How dare you come to this place and demean the occasion with your rudeness! You know that our rules require us to maintain strict discipline at all such ceremonies and receptions. Now, go and say your goodbyes and get out of here!"_

"_B-but Byakuya-sama, you know that they are…"_

"_They are shinigamis. They are people. Their needs today are to be respected. Now go!"_

_He smirked to himself as they fell over themselves, flash stepping away. He returned then to the boy still hidden in the bushes and watched as he stood and brushed himself off._

"_You didn't have to do that, Kuchiki-sama," Tetsuya said quietly, "It is no secret how we are seen in their eyes. I am sorry to have let my emotions get the better of me in your presence."_

"_Tetsuya-kun, you have just lost your mother, and those boys had no right to come here and to say those things."_

"_It would not matter in whose house they stood," Tetsuya replied, his eyes growing sad again, "We would still be peasants and half breeds and they would still hate us. I thank you for confronting them, Kuchiki-sama. You likely saved me a beating at their hands. I will be fine now. Please excuse me."_

_He flash stepped away, leaving Byakuya shaking his head and staring after him._

Byakuya slipped his hand into his cousin's, shivering at the coldness of it. It was nothing like the slim, warm hand that had trembled in his when he grew curious about how Tetsuya was faring and convinced his father to allow him to be brought to Kuchiki Manor.

_"G-good afternoon, Kuchiki-sama," the boy said, not looking up at him, but accepting his hand in greeting._

"_Tetsuya-kun, is something wrong?" he asked, "Look at me."_

_The boy's chin rose, revealing bruises on the porcelain surface of his face. And then, Byakuya saw more bruises revealed in the opening in the front of his kimono._

"_Tetsuya-kun, what happened?" he asked._

_The boy's eyes met his squarely._

"_You are not aware of what goes on in your own clan, are you Kuchiki-sama?" he asked quietly, "I know you aren't, because if you were, then you would know what caused my injuries. Tell me…why did you ask me here?"_

"_I wanted to know how you have been," Byakuya answered, blinking in surprise at the maturity in the younger boy's answer, in the pride behind the sad eyes, and in the soft swell of power around him, "And now that I know, I must ask you. How does one of your level of power get beaten up like that?"_

"_You don't want an answer to that, Kuchiki-sama," the boy said, holding his gaze steadily, "Now, if I have satisfied your curiosity, may I be excused? I have duties to attend to at home."_

_Byakuya placed a hand on Tetsuya's arm and the boy flinched, and pulled away, the blue eyes widening and becoming panicked as they had the day of his mother's funeral._

"_Tetsuya-kun…" he said softly, "You do not need to fear me."_

"_I am not afraid of you."_

"_Then why are you afraid?"_

_The boy's lips tightened and he remained silent._

"_Tetsuya-kun, answer me. Why are you frightened?"_

_The boy gave him a tormented look._

"_Oh…very well," he said finally, "because you are the leader and you have required it of me. I am afraid that if you try to hurt me, I will lose control and fight back."_

_Byakuya's eyes narrowed._

"_You…are afraid you will…fight back? You should fight back if you are attacked! Why would you not?"_

"_G-gomen nasai," said Tetsuya, looking deeply unnerved, "I am not allowed to strike my pure blooded cousins, much less, my leader. I would be severely punished."_

"_Even if they hit you first? That's ridiculous! Of course you should fight back!"_

_He thought for a moment as Tetsuya struggled for words._

"_And you are going to," Byakuya said firmly, "Do you have a zanpakutou?"_

_Tetsuya's eyes went saucer wide, then flared and grew angry._

"_I should have known," he said in a wounded voice, "I knew there was something wrong when you defended me! But Kuchiki-sama, this is just cruel! How could you…?"_

_Byakuya blinked in surprise._

"_What?"_

"_How could you think I'm so stupid as to fall into a trap like that!" the boy shouted accusingly, "You know if I appear armed in any noble house or public place, my zanpakutou would be taken and destroyed! You did this to take Re-kuhime away! You monster! How could you?"_

_He turned and started to run, but Byakuya grabbed him and held him tightly in place. Tetsuya froze and Byakuya's heart broke as he realized his cousin was waiting for his leader to begin striking him as punishment for his outburst. Instead, Byakuya wrapped his arms tightly around the boy, holding him close and refusing to let go, even as he began to cry hysterically._

"_Let me go! Let me go!" sobbed Tetsuya, "I didn't do anything to you! Why are you doing this to me? At least the others never tried to take me in like this! They were cruel, but at least they were honest about it!"_

_His legs shook beneath him and finally collapsed altogether. Byakuya dropped onto his knees, holding his cousin like something fragile that he was afraid would be broken._

"_Why?" sobbed Tetsuya, "Why won't you let me go? You never have to look at me. Just let me go. I'll make sure you never have to look at me again, I swear!"_

_He lifted the shaking, crying boy and flash stepped into the manor, carrying him through the gardens, out the back gate and down the forest trail. He stopped at the top of a cliff overlooking a deep blue lake and a waterfall. Tetsuya paused in his crying and looked up at his cousin in dismay._

"_Wh-what are you doing?" he gasped, "Kuchiki-sama!"_

_Byakuya frowned at him._

"_If you do not stop accusing me of trying to trick you, I will drop you into that lake!" he said, trying his best to sound stern.  
><em>

_"What? You are crazy, Kuchiki-sama!" exclaimed Tetsuya, "Stop!"_

"_You can swim, ne?"_

"_Hai, but…"_

"_Now, the first rule is when we are together in my home. You are not to call me Kuchiki-sama like the servants do."_

"_But…Kuchiki-sama, I am not allowed…"_

"_You are here. Now say it."_

"_K-kuch…"_

"_I will drop you if you don't say it!"_

"_But I…?"_

"_This is your last warning."_

_Tetsuya gave him a horrified stare and went silent._

"_Okay then, you defy me and you pay, Cousin," he said, holding the boy tightly and leaping over the edge._

_Halfway down, he released Tetsuya, and the two crashed down into the lake. Byakuya sank down, then rose to the surface to see his cousin swimming away frantically. He caught Tetsuya at the water's edge and dragged him to the top of the cliff again._

"_Now, then," he said, "What do you call me when we are here?"_

"_Kuchiki-sama, please, I will be beaten!" Tetsuya pleaded, "If anyone hears…"_

"_Wrong answer, Cousin," Byakuya said, leaping from the cliff again._

_They crashed down into the water again, and again Tetsuya tried and failed to escape._

"_I will ask you again," Byakuya said, carrying the soaked and panting boy back to the top of the waterfall._

"_P-please, Byakuya-sama," Tetsuya said wearily, "I don't know what to do anymore. You are confusing me."_

"_It's not confusing," Byakuya said quietly, "I am going to help you get stronger, Tetsuya. So that when someone tries to hurt you, you will fight back, and you will win."_

_His cousin stared up at him in disbelief._

"_I was right!" he exclaimed, shakily, "You are crazy…"_

"_How dare you!" said Byakuya, smirking, "How dare you talk back to me!"_

_Tetsuya was caught unprepared as they sailed over the edge of the cliff and back into the water. And that time, just before they crashed down, for the first time, Byakuya heard the light, beautiful sound of his cousin's laughter._

_They dragged themselves onto the shore and laid in the long meadow grass, allowing their bodies and clothes to dry in the sunshine._

"_It is good to see you look happy for a change," Byakuya said quietly, "Your eyes look sad too often, Tetsuya-kun."_

"_I know how people are and it makes me sad," said his cousin, shivering even under the warmth of the afternoon sun, "I still don't know if I can trust you, Byakuya-sama."_

"_No, of course not," Byakuya said, brushing the hair out of the younger boy's eyes, "Trust doesn't happen all at once. But I will prove to you that you can trust me. And I won't let them hurt you anymore, Tetsuya."_

_His cousin sighed softly and regarded him with wide blue eyes that still held disbelief. Byakuya shook his head disapprovingly and reached over to the edge of the water, filling one hand with mud._

"_Now then," he said, narrowing his eyes, "You are going to start learning to fight back."_

"_B-byakuya-sama!" gasped Tetsuya, rolling away, "Byakuya-sama, you wouldn't!"_

_Byakuya laughed softly and released the handful of mud at Tetsuya. Minutes later, the two were rolling around in the mud, wrestling and heedlessly laughing. Afterward, they washed off in the lake and collapsed together at the edge, breathing in the lovely scents and watching the afternoon work its way on to evening._

"_Will you train with me, then?" Byakuya asked softly, "I will teach you to be very strong, Tetsuya._

"_Strong enough to protect my father? So he won't be killed as my mother was?" the boy asked._

_Byakuya took a shocked breath._

"_But I thought that your mother…"_

"_I know," said Tetsuya, "That is what they want everyone to think. And I don't have any proof, just that I feel it. And I don't want my father to die because of me. So I'll trust you, Byakuya-sama, but you must promise not to take Re-kuhime away! She is the only way I have of being strong enough to protect my father!"_

Tears rose in Byakuya's eyes, remembering Kuchiki Takao's sudden death a few years later, the questions and suspicions, and Tetsuya's relapse into helplessness for a time. But he had been there for Byakuya when Kuchiki Soujun died, and had been his only true friend and confidante ever since. And over the years, the shyness and flightiness had given way to strength and stoutness of heart. But now, Tetsuya's life had come crashing down around him. His cousin stood to lose everything, and it seemed that there was nothing that his clan leader, cousin and very best friend could do about it…

"Tetsuya," he whispered softly, lifting his cousin's limp hand to his cheek, "I swear I will do everything I can to see you healed. And I will never stop until the ones who did this are found! I promise…"

He didn't have to think too hard to know where to start looking.

There was only one group that could have known how to employ the Breeders' Rite.

The Kuchiki Council of Elders…

But which were involved?

Were they all involved?

"I won't stop until I know everything and make them pay for this!" he promised his cousin.


	2. Silent Scream

**Chapter 2: Silent Scream**

"Kuchiki-sama, you must try to sleep!" insisted Michio, "Your reiatsu is becoming depleted! You haven't closed your eyes since Tetsuya-san was found."

"I will not leave him, Michio," Byakuya said solemnly, "I am not going to let him wake up and find himself alone."

"And I told you," said the old healer, his eyes sad and weary, "It is not even possible for us to know if he _will_ wake, There is no use going without sleep when it might be days, weeks, even months, if at all! You will collapse from exhaustion."

Michio's brow furrowed for a moment.

"Kuchiki-sama, there is something I can do so that you will be able to sleep and yet you will wake instantly if your cousin shows any sign of beginning to regain consciousness. Will you at least _try_ to rest?"

Byakuya sighed.

"Perhaps…" the noble said, rubbing his eyes and thinking, "but could he be moved safely?"

"Moved?"

"Yes," said Byakuya, "If it is safe, I would like him moved to the attendant's recess in my room."

"Oh, of course, sir," Michio answered, "He is stable enough. Would you like me to…?"

Byakuya turned away and leaned over his cousin, carefully lifting Tetsuya into his arms and carrying him out of the room. He moved out onto the garden walkway and back to the main building, then into his bedroom. Michio pulled back the covers on the bed in the small recess in Byakuya's room, then the noble laid his cousin down and adjusted the covers. Byakuya glanced up at the healer.

"You say that you can provide something to wake me if he begins to awaken?" he asked.

"Yes," Michio said, nodding, "It is a connective kido, something the healers use when a patient is seriously injured and there is only one caretaker. It allows the caretaker to sleep."

"Very well," said the noble, "You may proceed."

Byakuya sat down beside the bed as the healer moved closer and placed one hand on Tetsuya's face and one on Byakuya's.

"Just so that you know," the old healer said, "You and your cousin's minds will be closely connected. You may encounter some shared thoughts, or perhaps dreams. It is a side effect of the kido."

Calm blue light flared around the healer's hands and flowed into Byakuya and his unconscious cousin. As it faded, Noa entered the room, carrying a tray of food. She set it down next to Byakuya.

"Now, please, Kuchiki-sama, try to eat something," she said worriedly, "We don't want Michio having to heal you when your health gives way from neglect."

"Yes, listen to my wife," the healer insisted, "You must take better care of yourself. Even once your cousin wakes, he will need you to be strong for him. You cannot do that if you let yourself get run down."

Byakuya looked up into the old couple's faces with a grateful expression.

"Of course," he said softly, "I will make an attempt."

Michio briefly examined the unconscious man, then sighed softly and shook his head.

"He is holding his own, but we will need to start considering ways to help him cope with the reiatsu levels around him. I will speak with Unohana taichou in the morning and see what she recommends. Or perhaps Urahara taichou can come up with something. He is quite industrious."

Byakuya nodded silently in assent, then watched the healer leave. Noa moved closer and rested a warm hand on the noble's shoulder, a gesture few others would have offered him, but having served the Kuchiki family for hundreds of years, she had been a source of comfort now and again as Byakuya had grown up in the manor.

"Don't you worry, now, Kuchiki-sama," she said bracingly, "I know the situation is difficult, but Tetsuya-san is a very strong young man. Despite everything, he will come through."

"But," said Byakuya, blinking wearily, "Even if he does, he will never be the way he was. The shinigami he was is gone, Noa. And as much as I long for him to wake, I dread him waking to that fate. He doesn't deserve this…to have his life torn apart in such a way. I can't bear to think…"

"Shh," said the old woman, comfortingly, "Don't think about that now. Just sit with him and take care of yourself. When he wakes, the two of you will have much to do."

"You are right, of course," the noble sighed.

"Of course I am," she said, smiling, "Now, eat that food I brought you and get some rest. You will wake if your cousin needs you. There's no need to run yourself ragged anymore."

"Arigato, Noa," Byakuya said, as the old woman patted his shoulder lightly, then took her leave of him.

Byakuya sat solemnly as his cousin's side. He turned his attention to the tray of food and found that he was, indeed, starving. He ate slowly, his mind focusing more clearly as the food revived him. He knew he was going to have to begin addressing the task of finding out who was responsible for the attack on his cousin, but knew that the old couple was right about him needing to gather himself.

He left the attendant's recess and walked into the dressing area, where he changed into a comfortable yukata. He stepped back out into the darkened bedroom and gazed at his bed for a moment, but then turned instead, back into the attendant's recess. He studied his cousin for a moment, then quietly slipped into the bed alongside him. He turned to face his cousin and satisfied himself that Tetsuya looked comfortable, then he closed his eyes and drifted off. He wasn't sure if the memory that came back to him was his or Tetsuya's, but he let the pleasantness of it wrap around him and comfort him as he slept.

_Tetsuya moved noiselessly through the forested area, his senses extended. He knew Byakuya was nearby and tracking him. And when Byakuya found him, which he was bound to do, he aimed to give his older cousin a surprise. He touched the hilt of his zanpakutou and breathed a soft command. The spirit within the blade touched his mind briefly in assent._

"_Leave the image here," he told her, concealing himself carefully in the brush._

_He waited for a moment, then stepped away, leaving an image of himself within the cover of the bushes. As he left the image behind, his body seemed to lose its substance and became transparent._

"_Your waterform has improved much, Cousin," said Byakuya, dropping down from a nearby tree, "but you should have known I would see that coming for a mile!"_

_Tetsuya gasped as Byakuya's blade swept towards him, shattering his waterform and sending him back into the image he had concealed in the bushes._

"_Well, that went well!" he muttered sarcastically, flash stepping away._

_Knowing that his cousin's flash step was faster, he whispered another command to Re-kuhime and smirked as the area around him filled with copies of him, all flash stepping about. He felt the rise in reiatsu as Byakuya's shikai activated and began destroying the copies, searching for the one that was real._

_Tetsuya dropped down and crawled through a section of thick brush, carefully concealing his reiatsu. The forest had begun to go quiet around him, and he knew that wasn't a good thing. He moved forward on hands and knees, listening and probing the area for any hint of his cousin's approach. He made his breath silent and tried to become one with the area around him, his body motionless and poised…waiting._

_He had just a single moment as he felt Byakuya's reiatsu touch him, then he caught his breath and flash stepped clear as a kido blast struck the place he had just been. And from there it was a footrace to the wide open field. If Byakuya took him down while still within the forest, they wouldn't duel. He would be forced to endure another long afternoon of chase. That knowledge made him push himself harder, and he found suddenly, that his flash step had gotten faster. He was still only a step or two ahead as they broke into the field and took their positions, and his heart pounded madly, and his limbs shook from the effort. But then, his cousin had the fastest flash step in the Seireitei besides Shihoin taichou, and to be even this close, felt like heaven._

_He heard Byakuya unsheathing Senbonzakura, and pulled his own zanpakutou free, turning to meet his cousin's senka. It had taken him nearly a year to learn to counter that move and several months longer to master it himself. He flash stepped clear, then went on the offensive with a heavy barrage of swift strikes. Byakuya countered each with a practiced hand, but had to flash step away as his cousin loosed a kido spell to throw off his timing and to create an opening. As soon as he saw it, he flash stepped in to strike, but had to retreat as Byakuya countered with a kido blast and several lightning fast steps, in which Tetsuya nearly lost sight of him._

_Almost…_

_He had been undone by Byakuya's speed numerous times. And knowing his cousin was faster made him focus on disrupting the clan leader's movements and rhythm. It had taken time and many failures, but Tetsuya was determined that if he couldn't be faster than Byakuya, he would simply fight smarter._

_But to do so required thinking and strategy that had to move faster than Byakuya. And even thinking faster than his agile cousin moved was a challenge. He turned and fended off a kido blast, then was nearly taken off his feet by a second blast. Rather than waste time trying to recover, he dropped and rolled, then came to his feet, already reading the incoming strike and defending against it perfectly. Their weapons crashed together and they exchanged a flurry of swift, brutal strikes. Tetsuya felt the soft stinging on his skin and scented blood, but he remained calm and threw all of his focus into looking for an opening._

_But Byakuya's defenses seemed too tight, so he flash stepped clear and started to release his shikai. Instantly, the air in front of him was filled with lovely pink petals that swirled hypnotically and swept towards him._

"_So damned fast!" he breathed, raising an ice shield that froze the incoming petals and made them fall to the ground like a hail of tiny pink snowballs._

_He used several kido attacks, then whispered the command that made copies of himself appear all around. Byakuya began to attack the false images and Tetsuya found himself with a golden opportunity. His reiatsu swelled around him and he felt the purr of Re-kuhime's approval. He sank down into himself and let the power rise, then as his cousin lifted Senbonzakura and turned the blade point down, he knew he had reached the point of no return. His hand tightened around Re-kuhime's hilt and his body quivered in anticipation. He still wasn't sure he could keep control of it..._

"_Ban kai," he said calmly, "Totsunyuu-nami, Re-kuhime!"_

_There was a moment of deep uncertainty, then as he registered the incoming wave of petal blades, something gave way inside him. His spirit centers burned with power as a huge blast of water exploded out of his blade, widening and swelling into an immense, sapphire wave that struck the petals and held them away, weighing them down and making them fall. Byakuya intensified his attack, sending wave upon wave of petals, trying to break through. Tetsuya bent his head in deep concentration, throwing all of his power into the attack, and then altering it slightly, so that the water that flowed out of his zanpakutou began to freeze and forms sharp ice blades that not only destroyed the incoming petals, but threatened to break through them. He felt more stings on his skin, but pressed on, wanting desperately to, just once, break through his cousin's defenses. Always before, his ban kai had drained him quickly, even if he could raise it._

"_But not today…" he whispered, closing his eyes for a moment, breathing in, then releasing breath and another scathing blast of sharp ice blades._

_He used the ice blades to blind Byakuya to his next move and flash stepped to the side, leaving an image of himself behind and taking on his waterform to break through his cousin's guard. _

"_As long as he doesn't see…"_

_He brought his weapon down, then belatedly realized that Byakuya wasn't where he was supposed to be._

"_Oh…!"_

_He barely stopped his cousin's sword slash, then was wrenched back into the image he had left behind as Byakuya's kido strike shattered his waterform. He gasped harshly as he realized that the image was now held frozen in Byakuya's six rods prison of light._

_The breath left his body as a storm of petal blades closed in on him. His mind threatened to freeze, but he forced down his fear and raised his reiatsu, straining against the kido, until, to his surprise, it shattered. He flash stepped back and raised his ice wall, then watched calmly as it cracked and disintegrated under the force of Byakuya's attack. He used kido to fend off the blades that broke through, then waited as the air cleared._

_His heart began to pound in his chest as he realized that he had lost sight of Byakuya. And before his could regret his misfortune, a kido blast sent him crashing to the ground. He recovered himself, but rose to find himself face to face with Byakuya, his cousin's sword tip resting lightly against his chest, over his heart. He lowered his own blade in surrender. His eyes began to take on a sadness, but he was distracted from it by something…a splash of blood on his older cousin's fine skin. Sheathing his blade, he reached out with his sword hand and touched the wound on Byakuya's arm, intending to heal it. His breath hitched softly as Byakuya's hand caught his and held it away. Byakuya smiled at him._

"_But…" he began._

"_Leave it. You earned it, Tetsuya."_

_They walked back across the meadow, side by side, and at a leisurely pace, stopping at the lake to disrobe and plunge into the cool water. They washed away the sweat, dust and traces of blood on their skin, then dressed again and walked up the trail to the top of the cliff over the water. There, they laid down beneath the sakura trees and rested in the grass, watching the soft rain of pink petals._

"_You fought well, Tetsuya," Byakuya said quietly, catching a sakura petal as it floated down from the tree, "You have become very strong. You used your ban kai skillfully and even accomplished a new manifestation when you froze the water of your ban kai and made the ice blades. It wasn't just deadly, cousin. It was beautiful."_

_Tetsuya smiled._

"_Arigato, Byakuya-sama."_

"_Tetsuya," Byakuya went on, "You are much too powerful to continue to act as just the head of manor security. You would now qualify for much higher positions within the clan. Or you could take a seated position in the Gotei 13…"_

"_Byakuya-sama, you and I both know that my powers mean little to the Kuchiki clan."_

"_The elders will give you a higher position if I order it, Tetsuya. They know I am not going to let them…"_

"_It doesn't matter," Tetsuya said, shaking his head firmly, "I don't need a higher position in the family or a place in the military. I have told you. I have nothing in this world left to protect but you, nothing left that matters to me as you do. I have lost my mother and father. I have no brothers or sisters…only you. And the best way to protect you is to remain stationed as I am…head of manor security and your bodyguard. I want no more. And that isn't going to change."_

"_Tetsuya…"_

"_No, Byakuya-sama," Tetsuya said with finality, "Even if you ordered me to go, I wouldn't. And you won't order me to go, because you would then be obligated to punish me for disobeying my clan leader's order. "_

_Byakuya sighed in resignation and let his head fall onto his cousin's shoulder._

"_Cousin, you must get bored, spending all of your time with me. Surely, you must want something more in life…a wife, a family of your own? Something?"_

_Tetsuya closed his eyes against the words and shook his head._

"_You know how likely those things are to happen, Byakuya-sama. The noble families don't want half-breeds and peasants in the family. I cannot marry a noble woman and I am not allowed to bring any more trash into the family…"_

"_Tetsuya…" Byakuya said, reprovingly._

"_Besides," Tetsuya went on, his blue eyes taking on that old sadness, "I have no name to give to a wife. And taking one would only require me to leave the Kuchiki family and go to live in the Rukongai. And I won't do that. Ever. I am never leaving you, Byakuya-sama. You may as well make peace with that."_

_Byakuya let out a frustrated breath, then settled more firmly against his cousin's side._

"_I know I should force you to go…to do something better. You deserve better Cousin!"_

_Tetsuya turned his head and smiled disarmingly._

"_I think Byakuya-sama feels burdened," he suggested, "Perhaps he is bored with me and wishes me gone."_

_Byakuya gave him a gentle shove._

"_Don't say such things, Tetsuya. You know that's not true. I don't want you to leave any more than you want to go, but…"_

"_Then stop asking me," Tetsuya said quietly, "Because I will never leave anyway. Byakuya-sama loved me when no one else remained who would. And that is why I will remain always at his side, and nowhere else."_

Byakuya opened his eyes and sat up, the dream still strong in his mind. He leaned over and kissed his cousin lightly on the cheek.

"Arigato, Cousin, for remaining beside me. I love you for that. Tetsuya, please, remember your promise. Come back to me. I need you to wake up and come back to me."

He took his cousin's face in both hands and moved closer.

"Tetsuya…Tetsuya, you are all that I have left, too. Like you, I have no parents and no brothers or sisters. And there is no one who I feel as close to as you. Don't leave me, Tetsuya. Come back. Open your eyes and come back to me!"

His eyes took on a sad look and he brushed his face lightly against his cousin's, then slipped out of bed and quietly dressed. He walked to the garden doors and turned back. Raising a hand, he focused his power to create a protective barrier around the room. The barrier would allow Byakuya and trusted servants to pass, but would shun all others.

He didn't want whoever had done this to his cousin to have another chance at him…

With a final look back, he turned and moved in the direction of the archive.

It was time, he thought, to prepare to bring his wrath down upon the ones who had dared to lay hands on his cousin.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Two weeks later)

"Thank you for coming, Urahara taichou!" Noa exclaimed, "I will take you to Kuchiki-sama."

"Yoruichi and I have been worried about him," Kisuke said, following the old woman down the hallway, "He missed several taichous meetings, then Soutaichou said he was taking a leave of absence."

"Yes," affirmed Noa, "He rarely leaves his cousin, except to visit the archive or to search the grounds again and again for clues. He barely eats or sleeps…"

"Well, he'll rest easier now. This reiatsu limiter will ease up the pressure around Tetsuya-san and allow him to heal more quickly. Once I apply it, he should regain consciousness soon after. Then, we'll just have to see how things go from there."

They reached the bedroom and Kisuke stepped inside.

"Greetings, Kuchiki taichou," the twelfth division taichou said, nodding, "I brought that reiatsu limiter that Michio asked for."

"Arigato," Byakuya said, rubbing his eyes and standing to allow Kisuke access to Tetsuya.

The twelfth division taichou leaned forward and lifted the unconscious man's limp hand, then placed a slim silver band around his wrist. Almost instantly, Tetsuya's expression eased and he slept more comfortably.

"That looks like it helped a lot already," Kisuke observed, "And it should help wake him up, too."

He sat down next to Tetsuya and examined him carefully, lingering over his abdomen and touching him lightly there. He looked up as Byakuya's reiatsu flared warningly, and he was caught by surprise at the aggressive shine in the sixth division taichou's eyes. He cleared his throat softly.

"He is healing well, Kuchiki taichou, as well as can be expected for what happened to him. But you had best start making plans. Remember, I grew up with Yoruichi in the Shihoin clan. I know what they're like, and you and I both know what they'll do the moment it looks like your cousin is going to make it."

Byakuya frowned and nodded.

"They'll be at me to send him away," he said softly, "But I won't allow it. Tetsuya is my cousin, and I will keep him here with me, no matter what they think."

"Yeah, I know," said Kisuke, "Just keep him carefully guarded. If they reach him at this point, there won't be anything left of him to protect, Kuchiki taichou."

"Arigato, Urahara taichou," Byakuya said quietly, "I will keep that in mind."

He watched as the twelfth division taichou left, then turned back and sat down on the bed beside Tetsuya. He took slow sips at the tea Noa had left him and gazed out through the garden doors, his mind drifting. He had just dropped down beside his cousin to rest, when the connective kido between them flashed in warning.

Byakuya sat up quickly, leaning over Tetsuya and gazing down at him as his cousin's eyelids fluttered softly and slowly opened. For several breathless second, he stared up at the ceiling, his eyes slowly taking in his surroundings and trying to make sense of things.

"Tetsuya," Byakuya breathed in a whisper.

Then, the blue eyes widened in distress and he sat up so suddenly that Byakuya didn't have time to move. A pale hand flew to his midsection and shock and devastation overtook his features. Byakuya placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, then drew back in surprise as his cousin's body recoiled from him. The haunted blue eyes seemed not to see him as Tetsuya's mouth opened and his body convulsed sharply. And although he heard his cousin's terrified scream in his heart, no sound issued from Tetsuya's shaking form. His cousin wrapped his arms tightly around his abdomen, agony erupting over the usually calm features. Tears streamed onto his face and his breath came out in harsh gasps. Tormented eyes lifted and met Byakuya's. And this time, when Byakuya reached for him, he fell readily into his cousin's arms. He buried his face in Byakuya's shoulder, trembling and crying soundlessly.

"It's going to be all right," Byakuya whispered, "I won't let anyone touch you ever again."

But in his heart, he knew that his offer of protection was too little…and far too late.


	3. The Lost Warrior

**Chapter 3: The Lost Warrior**

Byakuya knelt on the bed, holding his cousin tightly as Torio flash stepped away. The clan leader kept his voice and body deeply calm and talked soothingly into his shaken cousin's ear. At first, Tetsuya seemed too overwhelmed to respond, but as Byakuya's words began to break through, he calmed somewhat, his breathing slowed and the shaking gave way to a final hard shudder and stopped.

"Listen to me, Tetsuya," Byakuya whispered, "I am going to take care of you. I know you are in a great amount of pain right now, but I need you to trust me."

He pulled away slightly and met his cousin's eyes again. Tetsuya's eyes were still wide and distressed, but despite everything, they still retained strength and trust. He blinked and reached up to brush the tears from his eyes, then squeezed Byakuya's hand gently in response. Behind them, Torio stepped back into the room with Michio beside him. The old healer moved forward and sat down on the bed.

"Tetsuya-san," he said calmly, "I need to explain your condition to you, and I will also need to ask some questions."

Tetsuya met his gaze and nodded briefly.

"First, I need to know what you remember about what happened to you."

"He seems unable to speak," Byakuya said, "I do not know if it is injury or…"

Michio leaned forward and raised hand to touch the wounded man's throat, but froze and Tetsuya shrank back against Byakuya, his eyes becoming distressed again and his slender body quivering.

"My apologies," said Michio calmly, "I didn't mean to startle you, Tetsuya-san. With your permission, then?"

Tetsuya paused for a moment, looking quietly back at Michio, then his clenched hands loosened and he nodded briefly in assent.

"I know that you have many questions," Michio said soothingly, distracting Tetsuya with his words as he quickly examined the injured man's throat.

Tetsuya shivered once, then fell still, allowing the healer's hands to explore the area as he sat, unmoving and still within Byakuya's embrace.

"Your vocal cords have not been damaged, nor have the physical structures that would allow for speech," the healer told Tetsuya, "What happened to you has caused a profound shock to both your physical systems and your mind. You need to expect that both will require healing and try to be patient with yourself."

Tetsuya's lips tightened to a moment, then he nodded.

"I want you to keep your mind as calm as possible and when I ask you the next few questions respond in whatever way you can."

Tetsuya took a steadying breath and nodded again.

"Torio tells me that he saw you in the gardens when the hell butterfly arrived, telling you that Kuchiki-sama would be late returning from work. Do you remember being in the gardens?"

Tetsuya nodded.

"Another house servant saw you climb onto Arashi's back and ride towards the stables. Do you remember arriving there?"

Tetsuya gave another affirmative.

"Do you remember leaving to come back to the manor?"

Another affirmative.

"Do you remember reaching the manor?"

Tetsuya shook his head and breathed slowly, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"Did you meet someone on the way to the manor?" Michio asked.

Tetsuya's eyes closed.

_Flash steps sounded all around him, and he found himself surrounded by dark, cloaked forms, all wearing dark masks to obscure their faces. His body tensed and Re-kuhime was in his hand in an instant. He extended his senses, waiting for the attack he knew would come._

"_Half-breed!" hissed an oddly obscured voice._

_Binding spells fired from all directions at once, wrapping around him and dragging him to the ground, even as he tried to destroy them with his reiatsu and his blade. A weight dropped down onto his restrained body and something sharp broke his skin. He was fading away, but he registered a few last things._

_Arashi's distant squeals of fury and the sound of his hooves pounding against the wooden barn doors…_

_The scent of sakura…_

_A rough hand twisting into his hair, then sharp pulls as something was drawn across the long strands, severing them…_

_The feel of those hairs as they fluttered down onto his skin._

_And the words._

"_You are going to die in a way that befits a half-breed like you."_

Tetsuya shivered and placed a palm on his chest to indicate himself, then drew a circle on the bed with his fingers.

"You were surrounded?" Michio asked.

Tetsuya nodded and touched his face, then ran his hand over it, obscuring his features.

"They were masked?"

Tetsuya nodded.

"How many do you remember there being?"

Tetsuya frowned, remembering, then held up seven fingers. Then his frown deepened and he shook his head and indicated eight. He held up a single finger and covered his eyes.

"You saw seven and sensed an eighth?" Michio asked.

Tetsuya nodded.

"Do you remember what happened next?"

Tetsuya sighed softly and shook his head, touching his arm briefly.

"You were made unconscious?"

Tetsuya nodded.

"So it seems you were surrounded by seven masked people and sensed an eighth. Then, you were overcome and made unconscious. Do you remember anything else?"

Tetsuya's brow furrowed and he thought for several long minutes, then his eyes widened and his eyes grew tormented again.

"You remember something?" Michio asked.

Tetsuya nodded, blinking as the tears returned to his eyes. He looked around the room until his eyes found Senbonzakura. He pointed at the blade, then touched his chest.

"You heard Re-kuhime say something?" Byakuya asked.

Tetsuya shook his head, his agitation growing.

"She didn't speak, but she made a sound?" Michio asked, "Did you hear your zanpakutou cry out?"

Tetsuya nodded, tears sliding down his face as he leaned forward and turned off the light beside the bed. Then, he placed a quivering hand on his heart. Byakuya took a hard, hissing breath, then forced himself to calm again.

"You…felt her die?" he asked softly, "You felt her fade away?"

Tetsuya's eyes closed and agony engulfed his face as he leaned against Byakuya's shoulder again. Michio slipped a hand into his and Tetsuya turned his head on his cousin's shoulder, so that he could meet the old healer's kind eyes.

"I know this is very difficult for you, but you need to understand what was done to you so that we can address your healing," Michio went on, "Your were apparently taken somewhere else and subjected to a banned procedure, known to us only in notations in our histories. It was called the Breeder's Rite, and it was a process by which, in the absence of noble females, noble males could be conditioned to carry children. As less powerful males were of less use to the noble clan, some were altered so that they could not father children, but instead a reiatsu chamber was placed within them and a ritual kido incantation was used to make the lesser male into a vessel to carry children that would only reflect the chosen noble characteristics of the father. If there was a strong characteristic within the vessel, the kido allowed for it to be transferred as well, but for the most part, the Breeder only carried the child. Tetsuya-san, the procedure was dangerous, even to fully noble males. It was never intended to be used on a noble of mixed descent. These ones who attacked you, didn't do this to make you over into a Breeder. They meant to kill you. And once the chamber was implanted in your body, they subjected you to a severe beating and then assaulted you sexually to force reiatsu into the chamber. These people knew that your peasant blood would not be suited to handling the effects of the ritual. From what I can tell, there was a deep shock within your body, one that caused a large eruption of power. And as the reiatsu chamber was filled, the power went out of control, destroying your spirit centers and causing your zanpakutou to fade."

He paused as a look of panic crossed Tetsuya's face and he placed his hand on his abdomen, his breath quickening.

"I removed the reiatsu," Michio said softly, "To have left it would have meant your death. You were in no condition to endure the demands of that manner of impregnation."

Tetsuya's face remained pale and sickly, but a look of relief passed over him and he settled against Byakuya, shivering softly. Byakuya's fingers ran through the ragged strands of his hair, and Tetsuya's fingers rose to follow their path. He turned his head slightly to look at his reflection in a mirror hanging on the nearby wall. He pulled free of Byakuya and climbed to his feet.

"Wait, you shouldn't be up!" Michio objected.

Byakuya stood and wrapped an arm around his cousin, trying to turn him back to the bed, but Tetsuya's hands tightened in protest until Byakuya turned him back towards the mirror. He stood for several minutes, studying his reflection…the short, ragged remains of his hair, the haunted eyes and shockingly pale flesh. Finally, he gave a long sigh and sagged against Byakuya. He went quietly as Byakuya helped him return to the bed. Then, he rested against the pillows, his eyes distant and heartbreakingly lost.

"You understand that there is no guarantee that your spirit centers will ever heal?" Michio asked gently.

Tetsuya nodded.

"I will do my best to heal you," the healer went on, "and I want you to focus on taking whatever small steps you can."

"He is telling you not to lose hope, Cousin," Byakuya added, "Your situation is both difficult and uncertain, but you must dedicate yourself to recovery. Whatever Michio requires of you, you are to do."

Tetsuya's eyes met Byakuya's for a moment, then he nodded briefly.

"Urahara taichou has placed a reiatsu seal on you so that you can tolerate the levels of reiatsu here. It also cancels out what little spiritual pressure you had left, so that no power will flow through your spirit centers as they are left to heal as best they can. You will feel weak for a time as you adjust to living without spiritual pressure. But you should be up and around in a day or two, and functioning comfortably within a week or two. For now, just rest and let your body adjust. I know you are tempted to torment yourself with what happened to you, but you must focus on allowing your body to heal."

Tetsuya blinked slowly and loosed a weary sigh.

"I will be back periodically to check on you," Michio told him, "Noa will bring you some tea and something to eat. You may not need to eat to maintain your spiritual pressure, but you will need to eat to help your body heal more quickly."

Michio stood and as he left the room, a hell butterfly floated in and paused in front of Byakuya.

"Rest, Tetsuya," Byakuya said, letting the butterfly settle onto his finger, "I'll be back in a moment to sit with you while you eat."

He stepped outside the room, leaving Tetsuya resting. Tetsuya watched his cousin leave, then shivered at the feeling of being alone and completely powerless. And even worse was the dreaded silence inside him, the emptiness where Re-kuhime used to be. He tried to close his eyes and rest as he had been instructed to do, but a restlessness rose up inside, and before he could stop himself, he was on his feet and walking on shaking legs, out into the gardens. He breathed in the sweet smell of the flowers, and the scent of the recent passage of rain. His fingertips touched the petals of some of them, absorbing the drops of water that clung to them.

Tetsuya startled and nearly fell, as the bushes next to him rustled, and a large, equine head poked through. Tetsuya's blue eyes met the deep blue eyes of his spirit steed, and for a moment, neither moved.

Then Arashi threw back his head, the whites of his eyes showing distress as he stared at Tetsuya and backed away. Tetsuya's eyes grew sad and he stepped forward slowly, reaching out a hand in Arashi's direction. The warhorse froze, his skin rippling as he quivered and tried to decide what to do. Tetsuya edged closer, gazing into Arashi's eyes and stopping just short of him. The spirit steed quivered again and blew out a nervous breath, but held still and didn't move away. He regarded Tetsuya for several more moments, then slowly stretched out his neck and sniffed at his master's extended hand. Tetsuya managed a smile as the warm muzzle sniffed his palm and then the warhorse stepped closer. He nickered in recognition and rubbed his face against Tetsuya's.

Tetsuya wrapped his arm around the spirit steed's strong shoulders and leaned against him, taking a step and nudging his mount into a walk beside him. He found a rock and managed to lift himself onto the horse's back, then coaxed Arashi into a walk and turned him towards the barn. A chill breeze cut through the light fabric of his yukata and made him shiver as they made their way towards the barn. They came to a place on the trail, where the ground seemed disturbed, as though something had happened there, but then, the rain had come and washed some of the signs away. Tetsuya slid down off of Arashi's back and dropped to his knees in the wet soil. He studied the ground carefully and found a small, lingering trace of blood. He instinctively tried to sense the reiatsu around the blood, but remembered, with a jolt, that his powers were gone.

He inhaled sharply as Arashi threw up his head and snorted warningly.

"Tetsuya-san," said a familiar voice, "Is that you?"

Tetsuya looked up at the two men standing on the trail and his blood turned to ice inside his veins.

"You look absolutely horrible," the man went on, moving closer.

Arashi let out a soft squeal and placed himself between them.

"I am surprised that Byakuya-sama let you out of bed…and out of his sight."

"Come," said the other man, "We should escort you back to the manor."

Arashi neighed loudly and raised himself onto his hind legs, then settled squarely, facing the two. He lowered his head and laid back his ears, baring his teeth and stamping his foot in warning.

"My," said the first man, "His manners are almost as atrocious as yours, _half-breed_."

"Leave him be," said the second man, brusquely, "Tetsuya-san, We came to work on the council's investigation of the attack on you, though I don't know why they are wasting their time. I don't sense a bit of reiatsu around you, Tetsuya-san. Are you sure you are even still alive? Are you a ghost?"

"He should be," the other said shortly.

"What is going on here?" said Byakuya's commanding voice, "Orochi? Shima? Why are you two annoying my cousin? And why are you here?"

"We are here at the order of Nori-sama," said Orochi, "The council wants a full investigation of what happened to our cousin. They will be making some decisions soon about what actions to take."

"Is it customary to trespass on my grounds without announcing yourselves?" Byakuya asked in a low, warning voice.

"Byakuya-sama," said Shima, "We certainly didn't mean to trespass, but you and your staff, it seemed, were so focused on Tetsuya-san, we met with no one at the gates. You should be more careful about the security here, especially in light of what happened to our cousin. Perhaps if security here had been tighter, he mightn't have been injured."

Tetsuya's eyes darkened at the flash of pain in Byakuya's eyes, and the suggestion that his own efforts as head of security had been lacking. He knew beyond doubt that the ones who had taken him had gone to extreme measures to get past the defenses he had set so carefully in place.

"Be that as it may," Byakuya went on, "You can be certain that a full inquiry is being conducted, and I have engaged the assistance of both the second and twelfth divisions in studying the evidence. I assure you, the ones who attacked our cousin will not escape justice."

"Of course not," Orochi agreed, "But you must not, in your protectiveness of Tetsuya-san, impede the council's efforts. We must be allowed to examine the scene of the attack and all evidence you have gathered."

"You will be informed of anything you need to know after it has been analyzed," Byakuya said shortly, "Now, as a matter of security, no one is being allowed onto these grounds without entering a record of passage when they arrive and leave. I will inform the manor guards of your presence here, and you will inform them at such time as you take your leave."

"Of course, Byakuya-sama," said Shima, bowing briefly, "Now perhaps you should see to our cousin. He looks quite poorly."

Byakuya's reiatsu flared warningly.

"You can be certain that Tetsuya will be well cared for…and meticulously guarded," he said, his eyes darkening, "To your investigation, then. But be cautious. The guards here are on high alert and have been given leave to use deadly force to apprehend anyone of dubious intent."

Byakuya approached Tetsuya and Arashi slowly, waiting until the whiteness went out of the warhorse's eyes to close the distance between them. He ignored the two relatives behind him and patted Arashi lightly on the neck. Arashi nuzzled Byakuya gently and nickered softly.

"Arigato," he said in a low, quiet voice, "for watching over my rather reckless cousin, who seems to have forgotten he was ordered to remain in bed. Do you have trouble with your hearing, Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya lowered his eyes and shook his head apologetically.

"Good," Byakuya went on, "Then, you will follow my orders and remain in my room, resting until Michio says that you are ready to be up and around. You were nearly killed. And if you want to have any chance of recovering fully, then you must obey my orders and follow Michio's advice. Come. We'll ride back together."

Arashi stood quietly as Byakuya helped his cousin onto the warhorse's back. Byakuya's eyes strayed to Orochi and Shima, who were carefully examining the area around the site of the attack. He climbed onto Arashi, taking position behind Tetsuya as his cousin signaled for his mount to begin walking.

"Tetsuya," Byakuya said softly, "I know it is difficult. And I can give you no honest guarantees. But we will do no good letting this situation overwhelm us. You must persevere. Just focus on getting well. I will protect you."

_But I should be protecting you, Byakuya-sama, _Tetsuya thought as his cousin's arms wrapped around him and Arashi walked on,_ It is all that ever mattered to me. It was what I built my life around and why I had to become so strong. It was what drove me to achieve ban kai. I needed that power, that strength to protect you. And if I cannot protect you any longer, I will only be a burden to you. I have always been a burden to you…ever since my eyes burdened you with guilt and made you reach out to me…_

_Byakuya-sama, I am sorry._

_I am sorry that you had to be there that day, that I looked into your eyes, and made you feel sorry for me. I am sorry that I was so desperate to protect my father, that I didn't think about how you would grow to care for me as we trained together. In truth, I didn't believe it was real. I always suspected you were setting me up for a fall. It was all I knew back then. I expected you to be like them, to hurt me, knowing that I would not be allowed to fight back. And worse, being clan leader, no one would care that you hurt me. But I saw that you were strong, and I needed to be that strong too. I went to you and risked everything to gain that strength I needed._

_But even strength didn't save my father from their treachery._

_They killed him in cold blood and walked away free._

_And I waited then, for you to reveal yourself, for you to laugh at me for having put so much effort into training, only to fail him. But I was wrong about you. You weren't setting me up. You were taking care of me. I will never understand why you did that, but it made my heart give way. And I have loved you ever since then…since you stood at my side and comforted me, even as I blamed myself for falling short. And when I had no purpose left, you gave me one. _

_I felt love for you that was stronger than any I had felt before._

_It was love that I knew immediately you would never be able to return, so I buried it inside. I picked myself up and carried on in honor of that emotion. I remained with you and comforted you when you found yourself as alone as I was. And I trained harder than I ever had to achieve ban kai, so that I would never fall short again._

_But now everything is gone…_

_My powers, my zanpakutou, even what strength there was in my body alone. I am nothing and cannot protect myself, let alone you. As unworthy of your love as I was before, I am now more unworthy._

_Your heart aches now with worry for me, and I would spare your heart the weight of that. I love you, Byakuya-sama, and loving you so, I do not want you to suffer for me._

_I would rather die._

_It would hurt you if I did._

_But it would also free you…_

Byakuya's voice sounded in his ear, startling him.

"Tetsuya," the noble said quietly, "I hope you will not leave like that again. I was worried when I returned and you were gone. I didn't know if you had left on your own or…"

He paused and took a short breath.

"You must not leave like that again. I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I would be alone…without my very closest friend. Do not burden me with that loneliness, Tetsuya."

_Byakuya-sama…why?_

_Why do you still want me here?_

_I have nothing to offer you now, nothing._

_Why do you want me to stay?_

Arashi passed quietly through the gardens as a light, misty rain began to fall again. It settled on their clothes as Byakuya helped him down from Arashi's back and led him onto the walkway. He started to guide Tetsuya into his room again, but his cousin stopped outside the garden doors.

"What is it?" Byakuya asked.

He pulled free of Byakuya and started towards his own room, only to stop a moment later as Byakuya's hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"I want you to stay in my room."

Tetsuya shook his head and tried to turn away, but found himself suddenly lifted off his feet. Byakuya carried him back to the attendant's recess and set him down. He looked into the sad, blue eyes and tightened his lips firmly.

"Stay here. I will not be able to sleep unless I know you are safe. And we are safest here. Do not leave again, Tetsuya."

Tetsuya took a soft breath and lowered his eyes, nodding briefly. He laid back against the pillows as his cousin moved to the dressing area and undressed. He returned, wearing a sleeping yukata, and settled down at Tetsuya's side.

Tetsuya kept his eyes closed, but felt that Byakuya was watching him as he drifted off to sleep.

_Byakuya-sama…_

_Why would you love someone who could be crushed so easily?_


	4. Claimed

**Chapter 4: Claimed**

Byakuya looked up in relief as flash steps sounded and Shihoin Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke appeared in front of where he sat, drinking tea at the garden patio table.

"Senpai, Urahara taichou," he said in acknowledgement, "Thank you for meeting with me."

"How is your cousin doing?" asked Yoruichi, glancing over at where Tetsuya sat leaned against a kneeling Arashi and gazing quietly into the koi pond.

Byakuya shook his head, his eyes also straying worriedly to his cousin's ghostly, pale form.

"We have done everything possible to bolster him. He sleeps comfortably for the most part now…with less nightmares. Noa makes sure that he eats and Torio and I walk with him every day to build his strength. Tetsuya seems to do everything that is requested of him for his health, but it has been four weeks since he woke, and he only seems to weaken a bit more every day."

"Has he said anything yet?" Kisuke asked, frowning.

Byakuya shook his head.

"He hasn't uttered a word since the attack. He seems to try, but fails repeatedly."

"How are his spirits?" asked Urahara, "Does he seem very depressed?"

"He is nearly always as you see him now," Byakuya said softly, "Silent, compliant and inwardly miserable."

"That's understandable, given his circumstances," Yoruichi said sympathetically, "Tetsuya was a shinigami of great power, and his whole life revolved around protecting you. It is no wonder that being suddenly unable to do so would make him depressed. It has to be devastating."

"Of course," agreed Byakuya, "And add to that the fact that we know of no cure for what was done to him, and it becomes even more understandable. Yet, even knowing the reasons why, I cannot sit back and watch my cousin slowly fade away. That my own clan did this to him, that I knew how they mistreated him and could not quell their feelings of hatred, their intolerance before it came to this. When I took my cousin in after Kuchiki Takao's death, I swore I would put a stop to the intolerance that took his parents away from him and brought him torment as a child. I have yet to fulfill those promises, and have only failed miserably, time after time."

Yoruichi smiled bracingly and set a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Byakuya-bo," she said quietly, "You and I know well the ways of the noble clans, and change is never an easy thing. However wrong the things they do are, they have a longstanding tradition of doing them."

"She's right," agreed Kisuke, "Real change is hard to come by. And more often than not, we just end up putting out fires and picking up the messy pieces they leave behind."

"Which is why I sent for the two of you," Byakuya said in a lower tone, "I have two missions that I must accomplish if I am to see my cousin restored. The first is to find a way for him to recover fully, and the second is to make an example of those who did this. As clan leader, I will not tolerate the cruel treatment of anyone under my leadership, no matter what blood runs in his or her veins. I have set about searching the archives here, but require assistance finding any and all references to the Breeders' Rite. I need to know the history of, and exact procedures used in the rite, as well as all rules and codes that bound the Breeders. I know for a fact that only extremely powerful nobles could have conducted the rite, and I doubt very strongly that another clan would have had the motive to attack Tetsuya. No…this came from within our own clan…and it involved at least some members of our council. I have also learned that the elders have been consulting the clan leader journals and other family histories in the recent past, both before and after the attack on Tetsuya, but I do not know who has been conducting the research, as they have been very careful to cover their tracks."

"But I am already working on the investigation of the attack," said Yoruichi, "What more can I do to help?"

Byakuya's voice became more guarded.

"I would _like_ to have the elders followed, but first, our rules protect their right to privacy. In addition, there are many within the clan who might take the opportunity to work against me. I need people who can be trusted not to betray my movements to the council. And finally, the second division contains the most skillful covert agents. This has to be kept quiet or the culprits will escape justice."

He glanced at Tetsuya for a moment.

"I was not clan leader when his parents died, so had no power to obtain justice for them. But I am clan leader now. And I will be damned if I will allow this to go unpunished!"

Yoruichi smiled and nodded.

"Very well. I will take care of that right away. I will send coded messages as information is gathered."

"You have my gratitude, Senpai."

"It is nothing, Byakuya-bo. I have always hated the injustice that goes on in the clans. I worry about what you'll stir up, but I am glad you are doing this. It is the right thing to do."

"Again, arigato, Senpai."

Yoruichi nodded and flash stepped away. Byakuya looked up at Kisuke, then withdrew a silver pendant on a silver chain and handed it to him.

"This pendant will allow you entry into the Kuchiki Family Archive, here on the grounds. The original copies of all of the clan leader journals are there, as well as histories of the clan and related myths and stories. I have searched and found some helpful references, but I imagine a fresh eye might be helpful in finding more. Just…your first, and most important task must be to find a way to restore my cousin's powers. He is dying before my eyes, Urahara-taichou. He needs to have something to make him fight harder to stay alive."

"I will give it my best, Kuchiki taichou," Kisuke said, nodding, "If there's a way for him to be restored, I'll find it. And in the meantime, I'll also make sure you know as much about the Breeders' Rite as the elders do so that you can counter whatever moves they make."

"Arigato, Urahara taichou."

"No problem, Kuchiki taichou. I'll start searching now."

He left the table and flash stepped towards the main building.

Byakuya swallowed the last of his tea, then rose and moved closer to Tetsuya, careful to stay out of his cousin's line of sight. Tetsuya leaned over the water, gazing down at his reflection and reaching up to touch the uneven ends of his slowly growing hair. Byakuya's heart ached for his cousin, remembering how strong his reaction had been when Torio had offered to trim the ends so that they would be even. He couldn't seem to bear being touched by anyone but Byakuya. And even though he quietly accepted Byakuya's hands touching him, it was heartbreaking to feel the way Tetsuya shivered under his hands, as though the acceptance was only achieved through force of will. It seemed to be the only sort of willfulness left in his cousin. And it was so unlike the person he had been before.

_"Come, Tetsuya, I have something for you!" Byakuya said, flash stepping out of the gardens._

_He heard Tetsuya's flash step and smiled as his cousin fell in beside him, and the two ran out of the gardens and down the forest trail. Tetsuya kept up with him easily now, though he didn't waste breath talking as they ran together. They breathed in deeply the scent of the surrounding trees and flowers, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the chirping of birds as the scenery went by in a blur. They slowed as they reached the waterfall, then launched themselves over and skimmed the surface of the water with their feet as they passed over the water and swept down into the meadow. He sensed that his cousin's hand had strayed to his weapon and set a hand on his arm._

"_Not today, Tetsuya. It is your coming of age. I have something better for you than a sparring match!"_

_Tetsuya frowned and blinked in surprise, but then shook his head and flash stepped after Byakuya, following him across the long meadow and through another thick grove of trees. The trail thinned and they slowed slightly, then came to a stop as they reached another meadow near a ravine. Tetsuya's eyes widened as he spotted the wild spirit steeds on the far side of the gap. He slid to a stop and stared, his eyes brightening._

"_Byakuya-sama! I've never seen them up close before!"_

_He followed Byakuya to the edge of the ravine as his elder cousin found a place that suited him and backed up to make the jump across._

"_B-byakuya-sama!" Tetsuya said, going wide-eyed as Byakuya ran forward and flash stepped across the gap._

_He stood for a moment, staring after as Byakuya landed lightly on the other side and turned back, silently motioning for him to follow. Tetsuya gazed down into the ravine and caught his breath softly at the sight if the sharp rocks and dry, uneven ground._

"_Shades!" he whispered, swallowing hard._

"_Tetsuya!" Byakuya hissed softly, "Come on!"_

"_B-but…"_

"_Come on!"_

_Tetsuya took a heaving breath, his reiatsu flaring as he backed up and focused on the landing on the far side._

"_You are trying to kill me, you sneaky bastard…" he muttered softly, bracing himself._

_He took another deep breath, then ran forward and as his foot touched the edge, he launched into what he imagined was the most wicked flash step he had ever attempted. The ground dropped away beneath him, and time seemed to slow as he flew towards the landing on the other side. He came down just slightly too hard and gasped as the ground he touched down on shifted and started to sink beneath him. Byakuya's flash step sounded and he was suddenly brought down in his cousin's arms in a much rougher landing. They tumbled onto the ground together, Tetsuya rolling onto his back and Byakuya half on top of him. Tetsuya glared up at him, his reiatsu sparking._

"_You! You tried to kill me!" he snapped._

"_Oh, what are you muttering about? You made it across, ne? I knew you could."_

"_And you say Yoruichi-sama is reckless! You put her to shame, Byakuya-sama!"_

_Byakuya laughed and patted his flustered cousin on the shoulder._

"_Come on, will you? I think we might have spooked them."_

_They rose and brushed off the dust and twigs that clung to their clothes, then moved forward into the cluster of rocks ahead of them. The two teens smiled as they watched a large group of spirit steeds grazing and resting in the meadow ahead of them. Tetsuya sighed softly in admiration._

"_They are amazing, Byakuya-sama," he whispered, "I've never seen them so close up."_

"_I want to ride one," Byakuya said, determinedly, "I've had my eye on that bay colt over there. He's old enough."_

"_Are you out of your mind?" Tetsuya asked, staring, "You can't just walk up to a wild spirit steed and hop on! What, are you going to freeze him with your reiatsu or something?"_

"_Oh…good idea," breathed Byakuya, "I was just going to hop on."_

"_Oh…" repeated Tetsuya sarcastically, "He was just going to hop on. Yes…hop on and be thrown over the edge into that gap! No, Byakuya-sama. You couldn't possibly."_

_Byakuya waved him off and moved forward, concealing himself in the bushes as he moved towards the bay stallion._

"_Kami, I'd better get up higher so I can see where he lands when that thing throws him," muttered Tetsuya, climbing slowly onto a small outcropping over the herd. _

_He knelt at the top of the rocks, watching and cringing inside as Byakuya moved in close to the bay stallion and prepared to jump on. The bay stallion lifted his head suddenly and snorted. In the bushes near him, Byakuya froze and waited. Up on the outcropping, Tetsuya grinned._

"_Good luck hopping on now, Cousin," he said softly._

_He was distracted by the scrape of a hoof on rock behind him and turned._

"_Oh!" he gasped, as he spotted the herd leader standing a few feet away, his head lowered in challenge and his teeth bared._

_He gained his feet as the spirit steed charged and stepped back, forgetting about the ledge behind him._

"_Tetsuya!" Byakuya cried, breaking out of the bushes and flash stepping towards him._

_Tetsuya managed a desperate flash step, but to his consternation, came down, not onto the ground, but onto the back of a huge black colt. He managed to hold on as the colt reared and broke into a run, and the spirit steeds all around them scattered._

"_Oh, this is not going to end well…" the teen muttered, conjuring a crawling rope to hold onto as the black colt leaped and bucked, squealing in fury and turning his long neck to try to nip at the beast that had landed on his back._

"_Tetsuya!" Byakuya called again, stopping and staring as the black colt, bucked and shied, trying to throw his cousin, but not able to dislodge him. _

_The colt exploded into a gallop and moved towards the bushes, making them rake Tetsuya's body as they blazed past. The teen ducked his face into a shoulder and lowered himself against the colt's back to cling harder. He held on for dear life, pulling his leg up as the colt charged up against a boulder, trying to dislodge him._

"_You have to get off!" Byakuya called to him, "Tetsuya, jump off and roll away from him!"_

_Tetsuya's face paled and his eyes widened._

"_Jump off? Are you mad?" he snapped as the colt nearly ran Byakuya down as he charged back along the rocks, heading for the meadow where they had begun. _

_Tetsuya's heart felt like it would explode, pounding harder than it ever had as the black colt stretched out his lean legs and ran back towards the meadow. He almost fell off as the long strides blurred and transitioned into flash steps. He had never even imagined moving at such a speed._

"_Beautiful," he whispered, laying his body against the horse's sleek back, "You are amazing!"_

_He heard Byakuya make an exclamation of surprise and concern, then too late saw that the colt was running straight for the ravine. There wasn't time to be afraid. He held on tightly and moved with the beast as he launched himself across the yawning divide in a section Tetsuya would never have attempted, even on the most trusted steed. He shivered as they passed over the wider part of the gap and came down into the meadow on the other side. His entire body shook as the colt slowed and stopped, then stood for a moment, as though unsure what to do. Tetsuya placed a hand on the colt's sweating shoulder._

"_You are stunning," he said softly, as the spirit steed's ear twitched and rotated in his direction, "Faster than the wind during a storm…and darker than the most threatening cloud. If you were mine, I would call you Arashi…storm. And I would never let you out of my sight."_

_He sensed Byakuya watching from the bushes._

"_So…Arashi," he went on in a soothing voice, "What happens now?"_

_He waited quietly and finally, the horse nickered and snorted softly. Tetsuya let the kido rope vanish and started to slide to the ground, but as the rope disappeared, the colt squealed loudly and bucked hard, throwing Tetsuya from his back, then breaking into a run and heading back for the gap. He cleared it easily again and stood on the other side as Byakuya flash stepped to his cousin and helped him to his feet._

"_Are you all right?" Byakuya asked quickly._

"_I'm f-fine," sputtered Tetsuya, staring at the black colt, who watched them from the far side of the ravine, "Just…a little out of breath…and maybe bruised."_

_He pulled away and took a step, then fell and was caught by Byakuya, who eased him to the ground and swiftly checked him for injuries._

"_You're lucky he didn't kill you, Tetsuya. What were you thinking, just jumping on his back like that?"_

"_J-jumping on? I sort of fell on. Didn't you see the herd leader?"_

_Byakuya shook his head._

"_I just saw you come down off the outcropping and land on his back. It didn't look like falling!"_

"_Yes, well, our training has given me good reflexes, it seems. Ow!"_

"_Oh, sorry, you are a bit banged up. Let's go back to the manor and have Michio take a look at you."_

"_I told you, I'm fine," Tetsuya objected, dragging himself to his feet, then wincing and holding his foot off the ground, "Well, maybe except for my ankle."_

"_Ah," sighed Byakuya, "and so far from the manor. I guess I'll have to carry you back."_

_Tetsuya leaned away and nearly fell again._

"_I can walk," he insisted, "Just let me lean against you."_

_Byakuya smiled and shook his head, but let his cousin lean against his side and wrapped an arm around him. Tetsuya limped alongside his cousin as they made their way back across the meadow, through the grove of trees and to the lake beneath the waterfall. As they reached the water, Tetsuya sagged and Byakuya set him down at the edge of the lake. Tetsuya slipped off his shoe and put his foot down into the chilly water. Byakuya sat next to him, reaching down into the water and sending healing reiatsu into his injured ankle._

"_It's not broken, I don't think, but it is badly sprained, so it's going to hurt for a few days. But cheer up, Cousin. It means that you don't have to attend Cousin Eri's wedding with me this week. Maybe I should go back and sprain my ankle too."_

_He stopped speaking as he realized that Tetsuya's body had gone taut and his cousin was staring up into a lovely equine face. The black colt stood over Tetsuya, gazing down at them through lovely eyes that were as blue as Tetsuya's, and sniffing at the youth. Tetsuya hesitantly lifted a hand and extended it towards the colt. The whites of his eyes showed for a moment, then he calmed and reached out, allowing Tetsuya to gently stroke his long, sleek neck._

"_So…why did you follow us, reckless Arashi?" the youth asked, smiling, "Did you come to finish me off?"_

_The horse's head lowered and nudged Tetsuya._

"_I don't suppose you could give me a lift back to the manor," he went on, "seeing as how you did sprain my ankle when you threw me."_

_The colt whickered softly and snorted. Tetsuya gazed into his eyes for a moment and read the colt's body language carefully._

"_I think he will let me ride," he said softly._

"_But you're already hurt," Byakuya objected, "You want him to throw you again?"_

_Tetsuya looked up at Arashi and shook his head._

"_He won't throw me. Trust me. I know."_

"_How?" Byakuya asked, looking up at the tall colt._

_Tetsuya smiled._

"_I can feel his thoughts. I can sense his mood. He wants to help."_

_Byakuya frowned and shook his head, but stood back as Tetsuya lifted himself and limped to the colt. The noble's gray eyes widened as the beast stood quietly and allowed Tetsuya to climb on, then moved into a walk and started up the trail to the top of the cliff. Byakuya watched for a moment in stunned silence, then shook his head again and followed after._

Byakuya sighed softly and felt his heart quiver as Arashi nudged Tetsuya lightly and climbed to his feet. He stood next to his master, nickering hopefully as Tetsuya continued to gaze down into the koi pond. He watched sadly as the horse slowly walked away, leaving Tetsuya sitting alone.

He wanted to leave his place of concealment, to go and shake his cousin awake and end the daze he was in. He felt tears in his eyes as Tetsuya sighed and climbed slowly to his feet, looking weary and unsteady as he turned to go back inside. The pain inside grew stronger as he turned, not towards Byakuya's room, but his own.

_Why does it hurt so badly inside, watching you weaken and fade away? Why do I feel like a part of me is dying along with you?_

He bit at his lips as Tetsuya reached the edge of the koi pond, near the walkway and had to sit down to rest on the grass.

_You shouldn't be so weak after four weeks of healing. I know you have done everything Michio told you to. Why is this happening?_

_I won't lose you, Tetsuya._

_I can't allow it to happen._

He wondered at the intensity of the emotions inside him as he watched his cousin reach into a bag of koi food, then stretch his white, trembling hand out over the clear surface of the pond, letting the food fall into the pond. The koi attacked the food furiously, riling the water as Tetsuya looked on with a tired, lonely expression.

_I can't stand for those eyes to be so sad…to watch them grow more empty as the days pass. This is unbearable. I've lost friends before. I lost my parents and it hurt so badly that I didn't know if I could go on. But this pain inside is different. It cuts even more deeply. I want my cousin back desperately. I want him back the way he was! He was so beautiful and alive…so…alive._

_Tetsuya…_

A tear crept onto his face and slid down as he remembered the feel of Tetsuya's strength when they fought in training, his strong connection with animals and his kind, loving nature. He remembered the silken feel of his cousin's long hair, the way it had fallen around his shoulders in beautiful waves and fluttered on the breeze. He loved everything about his cousin…everything.

_And even now, as I watch you slowly dying, I want to hold you close to me, to comfort you, to brush the tears away from your eyes…to…_

He stopped himself in the midst of the thought…that unexpected, spontaneous thought of kissing his cousin. But even as he tried to push the thought away, to banish it from his mind, his thoughts spun into a sudden fantasy of holding and kissing Tetsuya, breathing life back into him and making him whole again. His body began to shake and another tear fell. Tetsuya looked up and in his direction and Byakuya dropped to his knees so as not to be seen.

_What is wrong with me?_

_Could I really be feeling this?_

_Kami! Am I in love with Tetsuya?_

The thought was too much for him. He fled from the garden, careful not to let his cousin see him, as he ran to the front of the manor and stopped short at the outer gates.

A hell butterfly hovered in the air in front of him.

_"Byakuya-sama, the council of elders requests your presence at an exploratory meeting to discuss the implications of our cousin's lack of recovery and the problem of his continued residence in your manor. We…"_

He ignored the rest of the message and brushed the tears away, then flash stepped in the direction of the Kuchiki Council Hall.

When he arrived, the elders had already gathered, and were waiting for him in the council chambers. He strode into the room, his reiatsu blazing around him and sat at the head of the table as the head councilor called the meeting to order.

"Thank you all for gathering," said Nori, "And thank you for attending, Byakuya-sama. The focus of this meeting is to decide the fate of our injured cousin…"

"Tetsuya is going to remain at Kuchiki Manor, which has been his home ever since his father died."

"But Byakuya-sama," said Councilor Nori in a calm, peacemaking tone, "The council has the right, and in fact, the duty to explore anything that is likely to reflect poorly on the clan. As painful as it is, we must consider the long term effects of housing one who is basically not even a shinigami anymore, within our leader's home. As much as we sympathize with our cousin's situation…"

"Before you go throwing him out, you should at least give Tetsuya the time to recover fully. He is in no condition to be expelled from the manor!" Byakuya snapped, "It would kill him!"

"Actually," said Councilor Arisu, lifting an eyebrow, "It would probably be better for him to be away from the pressures of living around such powerful people. It is likely holding him back to have to…"

"I have already told this council that Urahara taichou has provided a means by which Tetsuya may remain safely in the Seireitei. There is no reason to move him!"

"Come now, Byakuya-sama," said Shima, "The council was against allowing that half-breed to live and train with you after his parents died. If not for your father's bleeding heart, we wouldn't be dealing with this insult to our clan."

Byakuya stood and brought his open palms down onto the table, making a loud banging.

"How DARE use that word in my presence!" he hissed, his reiatsu rising until the councilors shifted uncomfortably in their seats, "Tetsuya may have had a parent who was a peasant, but his father was a shinigami of respectable power, and Tetsuya's own power…"

"What power?" asked Orochi, pointedly, "Our cousin no longer has any power…no spiritual pressure. He might as well already be dead! And all he is doing is to cause us embarrassment in front of the other clans! None of them would ever tolerate the presence of a powerless half-blooded freak in their houses! It isn't appropriate and you know it, Byakuya-sama!"

"I do not CARE what the other clans do or what they think!" Byakuya said, glaring at Orochi, "We didn't get to be the strongest clan by pandering to their opinions. And if you feel we need to, then you dishonor this council with your presence!"

"I think what Orochi-san meant to say," said Councilor Fumio, "is that while the other clans do not decide what we do, we must remember that one of our most important jobs is to be a model for all shinigamis. How will we do that if we parade our weaknesses around the manor of our leader? Honestly, how is it good for us to allow him to remain at Kuchiki Manor? He belongs with others like him, Byakuya-sama. He belongs in the Rukongai. That is where powerless civilians live."

"Let me make clear to you," Byakuya said in a low, threatening voice, "You will not expel Tetsuya from Kuchiki Manor! It is my home, and as clan leader, I decide who will and will not live there!"

"Actually," said Fumio, "Kuchiki Manor is a clan holding. While it is your home, it is clan property that passes from leader to leader, which gives this council the right to vote on this issue. Head Councilor Nori?"

Nori nodded.

"All who agree that Tetsuya-san's presence at Kuchiki Manor reflects poorly on us and demand that he be moved to proper housing in the Rukongai, and attended there at our expense?"

He paused and made a note on the console in front of him.

"Opposed?"

He made a second note, then looked up.

The motion is carried. This council has ruled that Tetsuya-san must be removed from Kuchiki Manor and placed in a proper home in the Rukongai at our expense."

"No!" Byakuya insisted.

"Byakuya-sama, be reasonable," said Councilor Arata, "The vote was unanimous except for you. All twenty of us voted that this is what is best for our clan. You must concede on this issue!"

"I will NOT concede!" Byakuya said stridently, "This council may think it can walk all over me, but I assure you, that is not the case. Let us get down to what this really about. You cannot lie and tell me that this is really about our clan's image. You admit that you all opposed Tetsuya coming to live at the manor and only tolerated it because you gave in to the will of my father and grandfather. And you pretend that you made peace with that, but I know different! I have been investigating my cousin's injury and I have found enough to be certain that it was not another noble house who ordered or carried out the attack on him. It was an attack that was meticulously planned and executed by high level shinigamis with a real motive for doing so. And the highest level shinigamis who stood to gain the most from Tetsuya's downfall are sitting in this room. I KNOW that some, maybe all of you played a role in that attack, and before long, I will prove it. And given that you saw fit to harm Tetsuya, the price is that as I prove your misdeeds, he will remain with me at Kuchiki Manor!"

"Out of the question!" cried Fumio, "The council has ruled on the issue. Tetsuya-san, regrettably, must leave Kuchiki Manor."

Head Councilor Nori tapped on the table to bring the council back to order.

"Byakuya-sama," he said calmly, "I understand your feelings as you are close to our cousin, but the council has voted. The motion is carried. You must respect our decision."

"I see," said Byakuya, his eyes blazing, but his emotions coming back under control, "Well, it seems that this council believes it can manipulate with one hand and attempt to force me to follow the rules with the other. However, you are about to learn exactly why I was made your leader. I am no fool. I did not come to this council unaware of what you were doing…nor did I come empty-handed. After Tetsuya's injury, I researched the Breeder's Rite, and I discovered that in any case where a Breeder exists, an identified free Breeder may be claimed as property by any clan leader. And as clan leader property cannot be controlled in any way by any but the master of the house. I therefore claim Tetsuya as my property."

"What?" hissed several councilors, as voices rose all around the room.

"He can't do that?"

"A half-breed Breeder?"

"He has to be joking!"

Nori banged on the table and the councilors fell silent again.

"Byakuya-sama," the head councilor said quietly, "You cannot expect this council to follow rules of an ancient and banned practice. You cannot claim him as property. It is unheard of."

"And I will tell you," Byakuya said in a low voice, "I already know that members of this council were involved in this attack, thereby enacting the rules and codes of the Breeder's Rite when they mutilated, beat and raped Tetsuya, then left him to die!"

"But you know that a half-breed cannot bear your heir. He won't live through the pregnancy!" exclaimed Shima.

"That is not your concern. This council, in light of its involvement in the attack, cannot bring to life a Breeder, then refuse to honor the codes involved in the Breeders' Rite."

Nori shook his head.

"Byakuya-sama, you have not proven that a member or members of our council were involved."

"Tetsuya was not a viable target of any other clan," Byakuya explained, "His injury and death would not have any benefit for them. And because of the complex nature of the Breeders' Rite, it has been proven in the investigation by the second division that only very highly skilled shinigamis with exceptional knowledge could have made Tetsuya a Breeder. A branch of the Gotei 13 concluded that. All of the strongest of our clan are gathered here. All have access to information other clan members do not. Only the twenty of you and me would be able to determine that the Breeders' Rite would kill Tetsuya. And his healer, a man with hundreds of years of experience, concluded that Tetsuya's rapists attempted to force reiatsu into the chamber inside him, not to just impregnate him, but to kill him by impregnating him after beating him to within an inch of his life! There is your proof of this council's involvement!"

Voices broke out around the room as the councilors argued. Byakuya sat down and waited quietly as they talked. Some time later, Nori stood and faced Byakuya.

"You have made a decision?" Byakuya asked as the room went silent again.

"We have," Nori answered, "In the face of the high probability of there being council impropriety in the injury of Tetsuya-san, we voted to allow you to claim Tetsuya-san as your property. However, we could not agree that it is proven that Tetsuya-san is a Breeder. And the only way to know is for him to carry a child."

"No," Byakuya said sharply, "Tetsuya is still healing."

"We know that," said Nori, "but Councilor Orochi says that he found references to a test that was used to determine the usefulness of a Breeder. There is a kido spell that we can use to allow you and Tetsuya to mate without carrying an heir, but the mating will provide evidence of compatibility and ability to produce."

"What?"

"Well, Byakuya-sama," said Shima, "You did claim him as a Breeder, ne? If you can prove he is a viable specimen for breeding, then we will accept your claim."

"But remember that he must prove to be viable," said Orochi, "If he is not, then the claim is rejected."

"The council will give you a few days to discuss the matter with Tetsuya-san. In the meantime, here is the list of constraints for the mating ritual, as well as a set of rules that Tetsuya-san must follow as a Breeder."

Byakuya accepted the page from Nori's hand and stared in shock as the words on the page reached him.

_Oh my kami, what have I done!_

"Council is dismissed until after the mating ritual has occurred," said Nori.

Byakuya barely noticed as the councilors filed out.

_I cannot do this to my cousin…_

_I cannot._

_He will hate me for doing this._

_But now, there is no choice!_


	5. Acceptance

**Chapter 5: Acceptance**

Byakuya lifted himself to his feet and started back towards Kuchiki Manor, unaware of his surroundings, of the fact that rain had begun to fall again, or of anything but the stunning truth of what he had just done. It was there in print on a sheet of paper, carefully folded and stored in an interior pocket that was positioned somewhere near his raging heart.

_Oh, my kami, what have I done? Tetsuya is never going to understand or accept this. How could he? This is monstrous…beastly._

He walked blindly ahead, moving in the direction of the manor in slow, methodical steps as his mind spun out of control and his disturbed reiatsu burned around him with all the ferocity of a blazing sun.

_How could I have done this? I want to believe that it was to protect him, but this is no protection! It is the worst kind of betrayal…_

It was the kind of betrayal that flew in the face of everything they had been to each other. It broke the promises he had made to his devastated cousin as he suffered the loss of his father.

_Byakuya frowned as he realized how late it had gotten, and the fact that, as of yet, Tetsuya had not arrived at the manor. It made him immediately concerned in that his cousin was always exactly on time. He was never late coming to see Byakuya and to train with him. Their training and friendship was the center of both of their worlds. It gave Byakuya a chance to get away from the growing rush of responsibilities that came with being the heir to leadership of the Kuchiki Clan. And for Tetsuya, it was an escape from the drudgery of constantly being reminded of how little the rest of his relatives thought of him._

_Tetsuya was particularly driven in his efforts to grow stronger so that he could protect his father from the same ones who had killed his mother, and succeeded in carefully hiding what they had done so that they walked away free. Byakuya hated knowing that there were those within his own clan who could carry such loathing in their hearts._

_And that loathing was an even greater burden on his heart as he grew to know Tetsuya._

_For all that he was half peasant, Tetsuya possessed surprisingly strong powers. And despite having been conditioned to be submissive to his pure blooded relatives, he also was strong of will, as was evinced by his deep determination to grow more powerful…ever more strong. His father was of Kuchiki blood, so one might have thought him safe from being harmed, but Tetsuya was careful not to take anything for granted. He trained hard and made certain he stood at his father's side as much of the time as possible, so as to be ready for any hint of a betrayal._

_Byakuya looked up as a hell butterfly arrived._

"_B-byakuya-sama," whispered Tetsuya's soft, broken sounding voice, "I apologize for not coming to see you, but…m-my father has met with an unfortunate…accident."_

_Byakuya didn't wait to hear anything more, but sensed his cousin's location and flash stepped towards him, his mind gripped with worry for Tetsuya. He reached the small residence Tetsuya and his father inhabited and burst inside, running down the hall and sliding to a stop as he reached the room where Kuchiki Takao lay injured._

_Tetsuya knelt at his father's bedside, holding the man's pale hand and talking to him softly, though the man appeared to be unconscious. A healer leaned over Takao, sending healing energy into his slender body, but shaking his head sadly._

"_I am sorry, Tetsuya-san," he said softly, "I am doing all that I can, but…"_

_Tetsuya shook off the words and continued to talk softly to the wounded man. Byakuya edged closer._

"_Dad…please. You have to wake up. Please wake up! I need you," he whispered desperately, "I promised to protect you. I tried to…but…I am so sorry. Please stay. I swear I won't leave you for a moment this time! I swear it!"_

_The man in the bed groaned softly and opened his eyes._

"_T-tet…suya," he moaned in a pained voice, "You are…all right?"_

"_M-me?" his cousin stammered in surprise, "Of course I'm all right. Dad…remember, I didn't go with you. I was feeling ill, so you left me here."_

"_Ah…ah, yes," Takao said softly, "I am…so glad you are s-safe, my son."_

"_Dad, please tell me what happened. Who did this to you?" Tetsuya pleaded, "They said that hollows attacked you…but…"_

_Takao's hand squeezed his son's bracingly._

"_Tetsuya," he whispered, "My beautiful son, don't burden yourself so with worries about me."_

"_But, I…"_

"_You have m-made yourself strong, my son, and you will need all of that strength to move forward from here."_

"_Yes," Tetsuya said, brushing the tears from his eyes, "I will use my strength to take care of you and protect you!"_

"_Tetsuya," his father said, shaking his head, "You no longer need to concern yourself with me."_

"_No, Dad, what are you talking about? I…"_

"_Listen to me, son. Listen, because there isn't a great deal of time."_

"_Dad?"_

"_You have to leave here. Take the emergency pack that we made and leave here now! Once I am gone, they will…"_

"_Don't say this!" exclaimed Tetsuya, squeezing his father's hand, "You…you will be all right. You just need rest and healing."_

_"Look into the healer's eyes, son," Takao said softly, "You must see the truth there."_

"_No!" Tetsuya half sobbed, "No…"_

"_Son, listen to me. Take the emergency pack and go to the Rukongai. Your mother has a sister there. She will take care of you. And when you have gone, you will be safe from them. Go now, Tetsuya! Go before they come here!"_

"_Nonsense," said Byakuya, stepping forward, "You cannot ask Tetsuya to leave your side, Takao-san."_

"_B-byakuya-sama!" Takao whispered in a surprised tone._

_Byakuya knelt next to Tetsuya and rested a palm over the place where Takao and Tetsuya's hands were joined._

"_I swear to you, on my honor, Kuchiki Takao, that I will take Tetsuya into my household and care for him. I will not let anyone harm him. He need not leave here, but will remain beside you, as is right."_

"_Y-you…you will take him into Kuchiki Manor?" Takao said incredulously, "But, Byakuya-sama…"_

"_I assure you that I am serious," Byakuya went on, "Now, let your heart be at peace and focus on your son. You must help him to accept the truth."_

_Takao looked up at Byakuya with deep gratitude._

"_I know that Tetsuya is safe with you, Byakuya-sama. I know you will…help him to overcome…the hatred that has brought Kiko and me to ruin."_

_He looked into Tetsuya's tormented blue eyes and smiled._

"_Son," he said softly, his voice weakening, "Do not listen to what the family tells you, because they simply will not see the truth. Your m-mother was a beautiful person…so gentle, so alive! And her eyes were sapphire blue and as deep as the sea. They tried to convince me that it was wrong…that taking her as my wife was wrong. But it was not wrong, Tetsuya! Kiko was the love of my life. She was one of the greatest gifts I was given. And, my son, you are the other greatest gift."_

"_Dad…" Tetsuya sobbed._

"_We are all drawn on to our fate, Tetsuya. We are carried to our fate and we lay the pathway there with our choices. And though it may look like my choices have led to my ruin, that is not true. Everything your mother and I did, was done out of our love for each other and our love for you. Never forget that you are loved, Tetsuya. And even though I have to leave you, you are not alone. You are strong…and Byakuya-sama has offered you a home with him. He will protect you until you have grown strong enough so that they will not be a threat to you anymore. And someday…someday this strength you were given will be put to great uses. For, nothing exists without a purpose…or many purposes, my son. Put your faith in Byakuya-sama to protect you, and go and find your…f-fate."_

_Takao's eyes blinked and seemed to lose their focus._

"_Your mother and I will…w-watch over you…T-tet…suya."_

_A shudder of disbelief went through Tetsuya as his father's eyes closed and his hand went limp in his son's. The healer straightened and lowered his eyes._

"_I am sorry, Tetsuya-san."_

_Tetsuya remained on his knees, staring down at Takao's face, tears running down his face and his reiatsu swelling and darkening around him._

"_They…they can't get away with this," Tetsuya said softly, "They cannot take my parents from me…and not pay!"_

_Tetsuya's hand shook beneath Byakuya's as Byakuya slowly loosed it from Takao's. He held his cousin's hand and met the tortured blue eyes, his own threatening to tear as he spoke._

"_Tetsuya-kun," he said softly, "I have sworn that I will give you a home in Kuchiki Manor, and that I will protect you and see that you grow stronger. And you and I will dedicate ourselves to making sure that the ones who took your parents will be brought to justice…no matter how long that takes. Cousin, will you give me your trust?"_

_Tetsuya stared down at his father, his eyes overflowing with tears and his body shaking with dark emotion._

"_Byakuya-sama," he said in a trembling voice, "I will…trust you."_

_Tetsuya took his father's hand a last time and brought it to his face for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed Takao on the cheek._

"_I will find justice for you," he whispered, "And the ones who took you and Mom from me will pay with their lives! I swear it!"_

_He set his father's hand down, stood, and turned to Byakuya. Byakuya slipped an arm around his cousin and led him quietly out of the room._

"You gave me your trust that day…and I made promises to you, Tetsuya," Byakuya whispered, "And I have not been able to keep those promises. I have failed in my efforts to help you find the ones who set your parents up to die, and now, I have also failed to protect you. I have broken the trust between us…"

He burst into flash steps as the rain came down harder, as the lightning flashed and thunder rumbled the very air. There might have been tears on his face, but they mixed with the rain and fell away. Byakuya reached the manor gates and flash stepped through, then slowed and turned towards Tetsuya's room.

Tetsuya laid in his bed, curled around his pillows, his body quivering slightly as the thunder sounded again. Byakuya watched in silence, wondering how he would ever be able to say what he had to say to his cousin.

There were no words…

"I am sorry," he whispered, sitting down at his cousin's side, "I am sorry I have failed to protect you, Tetsuya, to find justice for you and your parents. And now…now…I do not know how to face you. How can I say the words to you, Cousin, when they make my heart ache so badly for you? I want to do right by you, but after this…you…will never trust me again!"

Byakuya blinked to clear his eyes, then stood and left his cousin's side. As he disappeared out the door, Tetsuya's eyes opened and he sat up, looking in the direction Byakuya had gone.

_Byakuya-sama, Byakuya-sama, what is wrong? Why are you so tormented? Is this…my fault? Are you in pain, because of me?_

Although his body trembled and he knew it was cold outside, he wrapped a cloak around his thin frame and followed in the direction Byakuya had gone. His cousin made his way across the gardens and out the back gate, then turned away from the forest path they usually took to the waterfall, and headed instead in the other direction, the way that led to the Kuchiki Family Cemetery. Tetsuya remained in the shadows as Byakuya approached his parents' graves and knelt between them, letting the rain pour down on him, soaking him to the skin. He waited to see what would happen as the thunder boomed and the rain came down harder.

_Byakuya-sama, what is doing this to you? Why do you torment yourself?_

He startled as Byakuya began to speak, thinking that his cousin must have seen him, but then realized that he was speaking instead to his parents. He started to turn away, out of respect for his cousin's privacy, but then he heard his name fall from his cousin's lips.

"I don't know what to do!" Byakuya said, his voice quivering from the cold, "I have failed Tetsuya miserably!"

_No, it is not you who failed, but me. I wasn't strong enough…_

"I promised to help him grow strong and to seek justice for his parents."

_And you have helped me…even though I have never been anything but a burden to you, Byakuya-sama. I am so grateful to you._

"I promised to protect him, but then…this…this awful thing happened! This travesty!

_It wasn't your fault, Byakuya-sama! They were determined to kill me. You cannot blame yourself for that._

"This is my fault, my responsibility…all of it!"

_No…you only ever loved and cared for me. But look at you. I have been such a burden to you. Byakuya-sama, this burden will leave you soon. The strength is draining out of me, day by day, hour by hour. I will not be a burden to you…when the life leaves my body and I am gone._

He started to turn away, but was stopped as Byakuya's voice grew louder and his reiatsu swelled around him, making the ground beneath them shiver.

"You were right, Tetsuya," he said bitterly, "I am everything you thought I was. I took you in, telling you that I would protect you and help you bring your parents' killers to justice, but I have failed. And now, I will betray your trust in a way that will shatter everything between us…"

Tetsuya turned back and stared, his eyes widening.

"They looked down on you. They made you feel small and weak. They tormented you and they held you down. They took your parents…and they tried to steal your strength, but my betrayal will be far worse…because you trusted me. You never trusted them. You knew that they wanted to hurt you, so your kept your guard up. But me…you let your guard with me. And we became close…so close. You have been my best friend, in a world where friends are hard to find. And now, I find myself falling in love with you! I love you, my cousin. But you will not ever love me in return, because I have done something so horrible. And you will never forgive me."

Tetsuya stepped forward, watching and listening closely as Byakuya wiped the rain and tears away from his eyes and continued.

"I want to say that it was because they were going to send you away, that it was the only way to keep you here. But there had to be a better way than using the rules of the Breeders' Rite to claim you as my property! You are no one's property, least of all mine! I cannot even whisper the words of my love for you, because I have broken the trust between us so completely. You will never forgive me…and I will never forgive myself. I cannot do this to you. I cannot. I have to go back to them and tell them I will not do this! Whatever the cost, I will not take your freedom from you, Tetsuya! Even…if that means I must go back on my claim before the council…and…allow you to be taken from me. I do not deserve you, Tetsuya! I have done nothing but fail you since that first day. M-maybe if I had let you leave then…had let you go to your mother's family…they would have loved you and you would not have been shattered like this. But…I was selfish then. I spoke and claimed the right to protect you and shelter you, though I was only protecting my own feelings because I couldn't bear to let you go. And now, my heart is even more desperate. To have done this…to have claimed you without even asking your thoughts…to have placed you in a position where we must make a child together! It could kill you. And we will lose each other anyway."

He paused and took a dragging breath.

"I won't do this. I won't take your choices away. Even if I lose you, Tetsuya…my cousin, you will have this one last choice to set the direction of your own fate. Please forgive me, Tetsuya. I think it is just that I have come to love you so much…that I feared I could not live without you. But you are so strong…even after everything. I will be strong too. I will lay this decision in your hands, where it belongs, and I will trust in your decision. To not do so, would make me no better a man than the animals who attacked you. Please don't look at me that way. I am not like that. I love you, Tetsuya. I love you enough to let you go, if I must."

Tetsuya stared, his blue eyes wide as Byakuya fell silent and his reiatsu began to calm. Tetsuya stepped forward slowly, suddenly shivering as the coldness of the night and the harshness of all that had happened began to truly sink in. He realized then, why he had been weakening. While his body had been healing, his heart had been frozen inside him. It had frozen slowly over time as the torments of growing up a half-breed, losing his parents and being left alone in the world had taken their toll. He had been brought back to life inside by Byakuya's decision to take him in. And while he did love Byakuya in a brotherly way at first, his feelings had long been stronger. And the love that grew in his heart made the coldness go away.

But that night, as he was dragged down…as his own relatives bound him, destroyed him inside, and tried to kill him, the ice came back into his heart and overwhelmed it. He had thought he was in pain, but it hadn't really reached him, hadn't settled over him and sunk in.

But he could feel it now…his anger and devastation at what had been done. All of it came down on the heart Byakuya had warmed with his confession and threatened to make it break all over again.

And Tetsuya hurt inside…

He hurt so badly he wanted to scream. His body shook with silent cries and tears erupted onto his face. He stood in the rain, letting it capture the tears, letting it take hold of that overwhelming pain and carry it out of him. And all the while, he stared at the one who had finally released him from the prison his pain had locked him inside.

And looking at his cousin, kneeling there by his own parent's graves, his head bowed in penitence, he knew what he had to do. Because his own heart was so broken that he might never be put back together.

But if he gave what was left of his heart to Byakuya, then some good could still come of living.

Tetsuya took a breath and moved forward through the rain. He stepped out of the brush and came to a stop in front of Byakuya, gazing down at his bowed head. Byakuya finally seemed to notice that he was not alone. He looked into his cousin's wide blue eyes, eyes dripping with tears and rain, shock and fear gripping his features and making him catch his breath sharply.

Byakuya tried desperately to think of something to say, but his mind was frozen, unable to get past the facts of what he had done, and that Tetsuya must now know. He waited in breathless silence as the lightning stopped, the thunder went silent and all that was left was a soft, gentle rain. Tetsuya's lips parted and both the fact of his breaking his silence, and the words he spoke shocked Byakuya to the core.

"I accept your claim, Byakuya-sama. I belong to you now. As you have given the choice to me, I choose forever now to let my fate rest in your hands. They are hands that I trust. They are hands that have always touched me gently. They are hands that will never do me harm."

He dropped slowly to his knees beside the stunned clan leader, trembling hands sliding down Byakuya's right arm and tangling their fingers together. With a shuddering sigh, he gave himself over to his cousin and let his head fall onto a shoulder that somehow still felt warm and comforting. Byakuya remained perfectly still, not daring to move, for fear of causing the moment to be shattered. They knelt side by side at the graves of Byakuya's parents with the soft rain falling steadily all around them.


	6. Beyond Words

**Chapter 6: Beyond Words**

**(Yes, I got up extra early to finish and post this before leaving to come home from my vacation. Enjoy, and please remember to review. It keeps my muse happy and active!)**

Somewhere in Byakuya's weary mind, it registered that Tetsuya was shivering. He remained otherwise motionless against his cousin's shoulder where they both knelt on the wet grass, their cold fingers still entangled and dripping with rain. He didn't remember when night had fallen and had no idea how long they had knelt there together. But it was, he thought, time to move, time to begin the task of taking on the future they had set with the decision for him to claim Tetsuya as his own. His heart was warmed in that they would remain together at the manor now. But it ached as he remembered the words on the page the council had given him, outlining the conditions of their acceptance of Tetsuya as a Breeder and of Byakuya's right to claim him. Even worse were the rules Tetsuya would be forced to follow.

_The council hereby accepts family member, Tetsuya's identification as a Breeder, as well as Byakuya-sama's right to claim him, provided that, using the verification ritual, Tetsuya's viability as a Breeder can be established upon acceptance of his claiming. Once Breeder status has been established, Tetsuya will be considered Byakuya-sama's private property, with the caveat that both master and Breeder must adhere to the following rules taken from the Breeder's Pact._

_1. The Breeder is a highly prized and inherently valuable belonging. He is not to be physically harmed in any way by his master, and his master must see to his protection and proper care._

_2. The master will provide suitable shelter, food and medical care for the keeping of the Breeder in his household. _

_3. The Breeder must sleep separate from the master and may only engage in sexual behaviors during mating._

_4. If it is ever required that the Breeder be punished, the punishment must not be physical, but must instead be a period of humane confinement._

_5. The Breeder will follow a strict regimen of diet and exercise to protect his viability for conception._

_6. A personal healer will be assigned to routinely examine the Breeder to determine his needs._

_7. To guard him from sexual assault, the Breeder must never leave the residence of his master without his master present._

_8. The Breeder is to be assigned a personal guard, who will watch him from a respectful distance at all times, except during mating._

_9. To symbolize the purity of the Breeder's purpose, he will wear only white clothing, and to keep him from straying, he will only cover his feet when leaving the residence with his master._

_10. To show acceptance of his status, the Breeder will never look directly into his master's eyes and will not speak in the master's presence unless spoken to first by his master. He will walk a step behind his master, at the master's right side and will not touch his master unless directed to do so._

_11. The Breeder will only have sexual contact with his master, and then only adhering to the strictures of the Breeder's pact._

_12. Because the Breeder is considered property and is not the spouse of the master, during mating his eyes and mouth will be covered to protect his master and him from the sin of lust. To prevent the Breeder from touching or being required to touch his master, his hands will be humanely restrained during mating. No words shall pass between master and Breeder during mating and after mating, the Breeder will lie untouched for thirty minutes to enhance his chances of conception._

_13. The Breeder will be granted two years to conceive a child with his master and five years in which to bear a child. If no child is born, then viability must again be tested and the Breeder and master may be ruled incompatible._

_14. A Breeder who is ruled incompatible with his master is then considered a 'free Breeder' and must be housed in a safe location and protected by clan council until he is again claimed._

_15. If a Breeder or master violates the terms of the Breeder's pact, the Breeder may be reclaimed by the clan council and emancipated from the master's claim._

Byakuya forced down the feeling of illness inside and rose, bringing Tetsuya to his feet. His cousin moved with him and then stood quietly at his side. Byakuya lifted a palm to his cousin's face and sought his eyes in the darkness.

"Tell me one thing," he said solemnly, "Tell me what made you break your silence."

Tetsuya met his eyes in the darkness and nodded in affirmation.

"I witnessed Byakuya-sama's confession," he said softly, "Byakuya-sama said that he had fallen in love with me…and it melted the ice inside me."

Byakuya felt a quiver of hopefulness inside.

"Th-then you…return my affections?" Byakuya asked.

His cousin's eyes widened and his lips trembled slightly.

"I must confess, I have loved my cousin that way in secret for many years…since he stood at my side and cared for me in the wake of my parents' deaths. Yes, I return your love, Byakuya-sama."

Byakuya couldn't stop the instant smile Tetsuya's words caused.

"I thought that you suspected I would hurt you…that I was setting you up. You did say that before."

Tetsuya released a soft, conciliatory breath and his lips curved upward.

"That is very true," he admitted, "and had I been correct, I would have paid for my recklessness in falling for you anyway. But I wouldn't have felt the pain, in any case. The harsher pain would have come from having taken that fall willingly."

Byakuya stared into his cousin's guileless face as though seeing him clearly for the first time. His eyes still locked on his cousin's, he leaned forward and brought their lips together. Tetsuya froze as Byakuya's arms wrapped around him, and their kiss deepened. He gave a soft sigh and settled into his cousin's embrace, his eyes glazing over and his eyelids sliding halfway closed. And when the kiss ended, he let his head fall onto Byakuya's shoulder, his face nestled beneath his cousin's chin and breathing in the sweet scents of sakura and rain.

"Tetsuya," Byakuya said quietly, "You must know that the Breeders were made to follow strict rules, and our council has only given permission for me to claim you if we follow those rules. When you hear them, you may change your mind about accepting this."

Tetsuya looked back at him with complete trust.

"And yet if we are parted, then things will, I am certain, be far worse for us both. This is the best we can do, at least for now. So, I will obey the rules of the Breeders, whatever they are."

Byakuya hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"But the rules do not apply until we meet for council to confirm your agreement to being claimed. Tonight, we will not concern ourselves with the rules. Come with me."

He slipped his hand into his cousin's and the two walked back along the pathway, through the gardens and into Byakuya's room. Byakuya closed the garden doors behind them and led his cousin into the dressing area. There, he stopped and turned to face Tetsuya. His cousin looked back at him quietly, and did not move or speak. But when Byakuya reached out and removed his wet cloak, he couldn't suppress a shiver. His lips tightened and his eyes darkened, but he said nothing.

"Are you all right?" Byakuya asked, "Is this all right with you?"

Tetsuya nodded silently.

"Are you sure? You seem…hesitant."

His cousin released a shuddering breath.

"I am sorry, Byakuya-sama," he answered softly, "But being touched and having my clothes removed brings back uncomfortable memories."

"Ah, of course. I will leave you to bathe in private then."

Tetsuya shook his head and captured Byakuya's hand. He brought his cousin's hand to the tie at his waist and kept his eyes on Byakuya's.

"We will not escape the past by avoiding it," he said, applying gentle pressure to Byakuya's hand, "We will only advance if we do so in small steps, and with respect for our past. Do not take my reactions personally, and I promise you that if I become too uncomfortable, I will tell you. We trust each other in all things, Byakuya-sama, and trust will see us through."

Byakuya paused, his mind mulling over his cousin's words. Slowly, he nodded and Tetsuya's hand fell away from his. Byakuya pulled the tie at his cousin's waist free and Tetsuya let his yukata fall silently to the floor. He quivered uncomfortably, but continued to look into Byakuya's eyes with trust. Byakuya stepped back from Tetsuya and removed his own clothes, then they left the dressing area and moved on to the shower. They stood under the falling water, face to face, letting the warmth seep back into their chilled bodies and bracing themselves for what would come next.

"Are you comfortable with me touching you to bathe you?" Byakuya asked.

Tetsuya hesitated for a moment, then nodded in assent. He shivered and his body tensed at the first touch of his cousin's slick, soapy hands, but gradually his body calmed and relaxed. Byakuya moved in closer and ran his hands slowly over his cousin's body. The noble's graceful fingers slid lightly over the curves of his slim shoulders, down each arm, then slowly over the soft planes of his chest and down the length of his torso. He reached his arms around Tetsuya, smiling as his cousin let his weight fall against Byakuya and sighed softly as his cousin's hands ran down his back. The clan leader's hands paused as they encountered the thinness that had resulted from his cousin's extended depressed state. He was buoyed by the fact that Tetsuya was speaking again, that he was taking steps forward and that he had given Byakuya his trust to assist in his healing. His hands reached his cousin's lower back and started to descend, but he stopped as Tetsuya shuddered and pulled away. He seemed to lose focus for a moment as a memory returned to him.

_He laid on the floor of a darkened room, facedown where he had landed after being held in place and struck with kido spells until his legs weakened and he could no longer stand. His abdomen ached fiercely and his body shook forcefully from all it had endured already. He wasn't sure what they had done to him while he was unconscious, but he knew what the intent was now._

"_You are going to die now, half-breed," said the low, muffled voice of the ringleader, "But don't worry. We will give you a nice sendoff, ne?"_

_The whip they had used to beat him slid across his bruised and bleeding back and a rough hand settled on his bare hip. He tried to sink into the painless darkness again to avoid what was happening, but found himself unable as his legs were forced apart and the hand on his hip tightened painfully._

"_You should never have been born," the grating voice hissed, "But we will undo that mistake now, half-breed!"_

Tetsuya stepped back, his eyes going wide, then dropped to his knees, clutching his midsection.

"Tetsuya!" Byakuya exclaimed, dropping down in front of him, "Are you all right?"

His cousin swallowed hard and blinked to clear his eyes. He nodded stiffly, but continued to hold his midsection as he struggled for words.

"I…remember a room…ruins. I was taken to some ruins. It was a familiar place. You and I had been there before."

Byakuya frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"It could have been anywhere," he said in a frustrated voice, "We trained in quite a few ruined areas to avoid damaging things."

Tetsuya's eyes narrowed as he tried to remember more.

"There was a window cut in the wall," he went on, "I could see out. It was blurry, but I could see…"

He paused and shook his head.

"I don't remember what I saw," he finished, shaking his head in frustration, "But wherever that place is, if we could go there…"

"We could find evidence that would help us to identify them," Byakuya concluded, "Then we should work at helping you remember, but not at the expense of hurting you too badly, Tetsuya. Put it out of your mind for now. We have done enough for today."

Tetsuya considered his words and slowly nodded, shivering again as Byakuya helped him back to his feet. They finished showering and returned to the dressing area to dry off and dress in light sleeping yukatas. They left the dressing room and Byakuya turned his cousin, not in the direction of the attendant's recess, but towards his own bed. Tetsuya paused and looked at him quietly, but said nothing.

"After tonight, the rules we must follow will not allow us to sleep next to each other. But for tonight, we will share my bed, if that is acceptable to you."

Tetsuya took a soft breath and nodded, then climbed into the bed and laid down, his heart racing as Byakuya slid into the bed beside him. The clan leader leaned over him and placed a warm kiss on his lips, then settled next to him, leaving space in between them, so as not to put pressure on his recovering cousin's mind.

Tetsuya looked at Byakuya out of the corner of an eye, thinking about how safe it had felt knowing Byakuya was at his side while he lay within the attendant's recess. Byakuya had purposely left that space between them for Tetsuya's comfort, out of respect for his injury and for the fact that neither had indicated a desire to move closer.

But, he thought, they had both indicated the desire now.

And when morning came and the council met to finalize his claiming, they would not be able to share such closeness anymore. He knew from Byakuya's strong reactions earlier that the conditions he would have to accept would be uncomfortable. But the alternative was for him to leave Byakuya and move to the Rukongai. And while he would live in an acceptably comfortable place and the clan would assume the general expenses of his living, being forced to part ways with Byakuya, now that both had declared their feelings, was too painful to consider. Whatever the conditions, he would bear them in order to remain at his cousin's side.

_If I could take the weight from Byakuya-sama's shoulders by leaving, _he thought, _then certainly, I would. But I know the look in my cousin's eyes…the way his mouth felt when it touched mine…the way his hands felt as they touched me. My presence remains a burden, but my leaving would hurt him even more greatly. Byakuya-sama, it was reckless to allow yourself to fall in love with me!_

_My only course now is to move forward, to accept the rules the council issued and to follow their dictates. It will wear on us both, as I am sure is the council's intention. But at least we will be together in some way…though I wish every night we could be together like this._

_So close…_

_Yet I want to move closer. I want the pain of what happened to disappear and to fall into Byakuya-sama's arms fearlessly. I want to accept his hands touching my body and to have it quiver with passion, not fear…to feel the strong waves of desire inside._

_How often did I enjoy the passion of our bodies crashing together on the training grounds, because it felt like love! I want to feel that way again._

_What they did is like a poison inside me…_

_It burns and stings if I move the wrong way._

_But I will overcome that poisoning of body. And someday, when Byakuya-sama touches me, the only shivers I will feel will be shivers of pleasure. I long for that day. And I promise that every day from this day forward, I will take a step in that direction, even if it is a very small one._

_I will…_

_I swear it._

And tightening his lips against the discomfort, he turned suddenly and sank into Byakuya's surprised arms. He felt Byakuya tense sharply, then smiled as his cousin relaxed and embraced him. Closing his eyes and settling onto Byakuya's shoulder, Tetsuya drifted off into a surprisingly peaceful sleep.


	7. The Breeder's Colony

**Chapter 7: The Breeder's Colony**

Byakuya woke to the pleasant warmth and weight of Tetsuya's body still resting comfortably in his arms. His cousin laid sleeping on his shoulder, the tumbled ends of short, wavy hair tickling Byakuya's throat and cheek and the pleasant, light scent of sakura radiating between them. Tetsuya's face looked more peaceful and relaxed than he had seen it look since the night of the attack, and his sleep seemed deeper and less troubled than before.

Byakuya ran his fingers through the uneven strands of his cousin's hair, inwardly lamenting what should have been a minor loss, all things considered. But it only underscored the level of hatred that his aggressors had felt, and it left Byakuya feeling sick inside as he remembered how beautiful his cousin had looked with those long waves of black, silken hair fluttering lightly around his shoulders.

But to the ones who had hurt Tetsuya, it was a reminder that Tetsuya was a blood member of the Kuchiki clan. They could take away his surname, but they couldn't take away the birthrights of beauty and power that came with being a Kuchiki.

Though, they had, in the course of trying to kill him, found a way to take away his powers. Tears threatened as Byakuya remembered the loveliness of his cousin's shikai and ban kai, the swell of Tetsuya's strong reiatsu and the feel of his powerful, slender body braced against his in training. But even shattered, horribly broken and powerless, still, Tetsuya was beautiful to him. He wrapped his arms around that beauty and whispered a vow to protect him always.

Tetsuya's eyes opened and met his tentatively. Byakuya smiled and offered him a gentle kiss of greeting. Tetsuya's lips were warmed from sleep and smiled against his as they continued to exchange slow kisses. Byakuya was careful to keep the contact light and to only caress his cousin's face and hands as they kissed. He worried about setting off another reaction, as he had in the shower. While it was good that Tetsuya had begun to remember things, he didn't want to overwhelm his cousin, causing him undue pain. Memory would likely return, given time and care, but Byakuya didn't want the memories to batter him even more.

"I am all right, Byakuya-sama," Tetsuya said, making Byakuya blink in surprise.

His cousin smiled at his reaction.

"You looked worried. I was just saying that I am comfortable with you kissing me. Although, perhaps I shouldn't become too comfortable with it, given that it may violate the rules, once the council has granted me Breeder status."

He noted the increase of tension in his cousin's body, and placed his hands on Byakuya's face, holding him in place and kissing him more deeply. He brought his lips close to the clan leader's ear.

"I know the council of elders is trying very hard to have me separated from you, but as long as we remain together, even though they might cause us great discomfort, at least we will still be able to fight them together. And Byakuya-sama, I believe we can beat them. They succeeded in hurting me, but their aim was to kill me. We have already thwarted them once, then, in that."

"That is why they are doing this," Byakuya agreed, nodding, "forcing us to abide by the ancient rules of the Breeders. The rules are very strict…and they will cause me to have to do something I never wanted to…Tetsuya…"

He paused, a tormented look overtaking his face. Tetsuya leaned forward and kissed him again, caressing Byakuya's face and throat with his slender hands and pausing as his cousin's torment only increased.

"Byakuya-sama!" he exclaimed, staring into Byakuya's gray eyes, "What is wrong? Was it something I did? Something I said? I swear, I am sorry! I never meant to…"

"No," Byakuya said, wiping a tear away from his eyes and rubbing his cheek lightly against his cousin's, "It is just that…"

He tried again to force out the words, but found that he could not. So instead, he retrieved the damp page that he had been given in the council meeting, and handed it to Tetsuya, who read it carefully, his blue eyes darkening slightly, but his face composed. He finished and set the page down on the nightstand, his face pale, but his eyes determined. Byakuya stared at him in surprise.

"Tetsuya…"

"Byakuya-sama," his cousin said, placing his fingertips over Byakuya's lips, "You know that they just wish that you would see me as they do…as some kind of trash that should never have existed, but even in the doing of these things they require, you are no more like them than I am! Do not worry. I will not take any of this to mean that you have become like them. You will never _be_ like them! I will obey the rules, because I must. But it will only be for a while, until we prove what they did. Until we identify the ones who hurt me…and make them pay for it!"

Byakuya stared into the dark blue eyes of his cousin, marveling at the feeling of strength they expressed, even in the absence of his reiatsu. And he realized then that what they were expressing was the strength that still existed inside Tetsuya, the strong will that was going to fight as long as there was still breath in his body. He shivered at the feel of that strength and nodded briefly in agreement. He started to speak, but was interrupted as Torio entered the room, looking nervous.

"What is it?" Byakuya asked, looking up at the youth.

"Sir," said Torio, quickly, "Urahara-taichou is here, and he says that he must speak with you now."

Byakuya sat up and wrapped his yukata more tightly around himself.

"Send him in, then," he told his attendant.

Torio disappeared out the door and returned several minutes later with Kisuke and a tray of tea for all of them.

Kisuke accepted a cup of the tea, then Byakuya took a cup and handed one to Tetsuya. Torio bowed and left the room.

Urahara taichou," Byakuya said, once they were alone, "What brings you here? Have you found something?"

"Actually, yes," Kisuke told them, "And it's something pretty significant. It is so significant, in fact, that I want you to come with me to see something."

"Very well," Byakuya said, rising and turning back to face Tetsuya, "I'm sure this won't take long. Stay here and rest."

Kisuke shook his head.

"Tetsuya-san will want to see this too," he said quietly, "And in any case, I think it would be a bad idea to leave your cousin here while we are gone. Things are very tense, and if the council finds out you are gone, they could try to pull something while you are not here to do anything about it."

"But where are we going?" asked Tetsuya, his blue eyes fixing on Urahara.

"Hueco Mundo," said the twelfth divison taichou.

Byakuya and Tetsuya's eyes widened.

"Urahara taichou, you must be joking, if you think I will allow my cousin to cross over into the land of the hollows. He barely has any reiatsu and has no way of fighting."

"Maybe not," Kisuke said, focusing on Tetsuya's eyes, "But he has someone who can look out for him."

Tetsuya's eyes blinked and understanding flooded his face.

"Arashi?" he asked softly.

"Yes, Arashi," said Kisuke, "That spirit steed is strong enough to protect Tetsuya-san. And we will also have Yoruichi taichou with us, too. Believe me, if any hollows bother us, we will be more than a match for them."

"And you must admit, Cousin," Tetsuya added, "If you are riding Arashi with me, I couldn't be much safer."

Byakuya hesitated, thinking.

"Kuchiki taichou," Kisuke said earnestly, "The elders aren't going to stop at trying to make you two miserable. They are going to keep scheming until you find evidence against the ones who attacked Tetsuya-san and bring order back to the clan by punishing them."

Byakuya frowned and his lips tightened, but a moment later, he nodded in agreement.

"But," he said firmly to Tetsuya, "You are not leave my side."

"I will not leave your side, Byakuya-sama," Tetsuya promised readily.

Byakuya nodded again, reluctantly.

"Very well, then," he said, "We will leave as soon as you summon Yoruichi taichou."

"No need to summon me," said Yoruichi, flash stepping into view, "I got Kisuke's hell butterfly. I'm ready to go."

"Then we just need Arashi," Tetsuya said, looking out the garden doors and lifting his fingers to his lips. He produced an odd whistling sound and the three heard hoofbeats and a loud neighing outside the room. Byakuya and Tetsuya went into the dressing area to change, while Kisuke and Yoruichi slipped outside to visit with the curious spirit steed, who turned his head this way and that, looking for his master. Tetsuya emerged from Byakuya's room dressed in a shihakushou and carrying a sheathed sword that Byakuya had given him. He slipped the sword into his belt and bounded onto his mount's high back, looking much more like himself than he had ever since the attack. Byakuya climbed up behind Tetsuya and Yoruichi took on her cat form and walked alongside Kisuke.

Yoruichi opened a private senkaimon and they moved into the precipice world. They came out near the border of between the Seireitei and the world of the hollows in a remote area.

"I have studied the method that the hollows use to move from their world into others," said Kisuke, "And I can use that method. I just wanted to be away from prying eyes before using it."

He moved out ahead of them and set several markers in place, then focused his power and caused a tear to open in the air in front of them.

"Quickly now, before we get sensed by shinigamis or hollows," Kisuke said, leading them on.

They passed into the underground cavern and moved forward swiftly, emerging sometime later in the cold, dark desert. Arashi fidgeted and tossed his head, but was well trained enough that he made no sound that would cause them to be discovered. As they moved forward, following Kisuke, the twelfth division taichou explained why he had brought them there.

"I found several references to a colony in Hueco Mundo," he said, looking over his shoulder at them, "The Breeders were, of course, considered very valuable and were bartered among the noble houses quite frequently. Incidentally, there was a noble in one of the lower houses, who thought he'd make himself rich breeding a pool of Breeders, who could then be traded or sold to other families. He knew that if he was caught doing this, he would be arrested, so he set up an operation here, in Hueco Mundo and ran it successfully for quite a few years before the colony was attacked and the shinigami, as well as the Breeders housed here were all killed. But the reason we need to go here is because there is a high probability that we will find more information that could help us. At very least, I'd like to find a copy of the Breeder's Pact…a full copy. I want to know exactly what rules and conditions applied to the Breeders, so as to find a way out of this for Tetusya-san."

"It's hard to believe that he could have made those people stay in a place like this," Tetsuya commented, a chill going through his slender frame, "It's so dead here…and so cold…"

Byakuya's arms tightened around Tetsuya's waist and his chin came to rest on his cousin's shoulder, making their faces touch lightly.

"It certainly wasn't a pretty life," Kisuke agreed, "But as soon as one could be sold or traded to a noble family, the Breeders were free of Hueco Mundo. They were sworn to secrecy, so that the Gotei 13 would never hear of what was going on, but yeah, the clans knew. That was where they got most of their Breeders."

They slowed as they came to the entrance to a small, lonely valley. Kisuke and Yoruichi moved out ahead of Byakuya and Tetsuya, turning to study the caves that were built into the walls of rock.

"This should be it," Kisuke said, quietly, "I think this is where the colony was. Yoruichi and I will go and explore the caves on the far side. Why don't the two of you look inside these?"

Byakuya and Tetsuya slid down off of Arashi's back and watched the other two taichous flash step across the valley. They moved towards the first set of caves and passed into them, Byakuya lighting the way with a kido lamp. The caves turned out to be simple, but they did find the remains of items made with fine silk and other expensive materials.

"Likely, the shinigami who was in charge of them wanted to make sure they were healthy and well cared for, so he spared no expense with their care here."

"It sounds like he had the cooperation of the noble houses," Tetsuya added.

"Yes," agreed Byakuya, "I have read that the noble houses did not relish having to use the barbaric methods to make their own males into Breeders, so they quietly supported this colony as a way to make the creation of Breeders 'out of sight and out of mind,' for their own comfort and peace of mind."

"It's horrible," Tetsuya sighed, "How did they manage?"

He broke off as Kisuke's voice called after them, summoning them out into the center of the valley. They flash stepped out of the caves and across the valley floor to where Arashi stood, waiting and watched as Kisuke and Yoruichi reappeared. Kisuke held several loose papers and a beat up looking book with a simple black cover.

"It looks like you found something," Byakuya commented.

"Yes," said the twelfth division taichou, "I found some records of the care and keeping of the Breeders who were here and I found a copy of the Breeder's Pact. I want to search some more, but I thought that you and Tetsuya-san could study the pact while we continue the search."

Byakuya nodded and accepted the Breeder's Pact, while Tetsuya took the papers. Tetsuya pored over the papers as Byakuya began to read the Breeder's Pact. His blue eyes widened in surprise as he realized just how many Breeders had been housed in the small valley.

"This is incredible!" he said softly, "Byakuya-sama, this was like a small city! There were so many!"

"It makes me wonder how they were all killed by hollows," Byakuya mused, "As we came into the valley, I saw signs of a shield that must have been in place. It would take armies of hollows, bearing immense power to take down the entire operation. It just doesn't seem that's so likely."

He shook his head at the oddity.

Tetsuya shifted the papers in his hands, reading more.

"They actually fared pretty well, considering," he reported to Byakuya, "Their caves were made comfortable and the valley was actually treated with a special kido that rose and set like the sun. Amazing…but still…"

He broke off as Arashi made a sound of warning and moved into position over Tetsuya's right shoulder.

"Arashi," Tetsuya said, looking around, "What...?"

Flash steps sounded all around them and the two shinigamis were stunned to find themselves looking at a small group of powerful looking hollows, who had surrounded them. Tetsuya inhaled sharply, realization sweeping over his pale features as the leader of the group of hollows moved forward until he saw Byakuya lay his hand on Senbonzakura.

"You," said the leader to Tetsuya, "You are a Breeder?"

It struck Byakuya then, what his cousin had noticed. All of the hollows were lovely, slender males with pristine, sculpted features. And all of them were dressed in white.

"You were Breeders also?" Byakuya asked in return, "You were of the Breeder colony attacked by the hollows?"

"We were members of the colony," the leader told them, "And we were attacked and killed. But we were not killed by hollows."

"What?" Tetsuya hissed softly.

"If you were not killed by hollows," Byakuya said, "Then what happened to your colony?"

The leader paused and watched warily as Kisuke and Yoruichi emerged from the caves and approached them.

"We were told that the Breeders of this colony were killed in a massive hollow attack," explained Tetsuya, "You say that is not true?"

"No," said the hollow, "It is a lie. We were not killed by hollows, though the strongest among us did become hollows upon our deaths. But it was a much more treacherous hand that killed us. You see…we were killed by a man named Yamashita Takumi."

"Yamashita Takumi…" mused Kisuke, stepping closer, "That's the shinigami who…"

"Who made all of us, yes," the leader of the group of hollows told them, "We were, in the end, killed by our own creator!"


	8. The Massacre

**Chapter 8: The Massacre**

The group of shinigamis stared at the leader of the group of hollow Breeders in surprise. Tetsuya moved closer, studying the hollow with curious eyes.

"Your creator…killed all of you?" he said softly, thinking about just how many breeders had lived in the valley and what it must have taken to slaughter them all.

The hollow nodded. He glanced at the other hollows and they drifted away, leaving just the leader in the center of the small valley with the group of shinigamis. The group settled on the ground and the hollow continued his story.

"My name is Shin," the hollow said, "I have no surname. None of us do. The Breeders made here were lesser males of the noble houses, but all sacrificed their affiliation to individual houses when they were sent to this colony and made into Breeders."

"You say that you were sent here?" asked Kisuke, "Who ordered you to come here?"

The hollow fixed his golden eyes on Kisuke.

"The reasons given for our assignment here varied from noble leader to noble leader, but the truth in each case was the same. The leaders of most of the clans had secret agreements to send their lesser males here to have them made over into Breeders. The Breeders were then sold or traded to other clans, with the money being shared by Yamashita-san and the clans that provided the males."

Shin's eyes flashed softly.

"You must understand that the ones sent to become Breeders did not choose this. Often, they were men who were seen as a perceived threat to the leaders of their clans, or they were involved in disputes or had other issues. It was a way to make those men quietly disappear and to make use of them in a way that both removed them from the clan and provided the clan with money in return."

"Which clans were involved in this trade?" asked Byakuya, "How widespread was the practice?"

"Nearly all of the clans, at one time or another, were involved in sending men to become Breeders. Some, like the Kuchiki clan, the more powerful houses, looked down on and discouraged doing so, but among the lower houses that had less influence and wanted more, it was a way to gain money and power. Several clans saw their positions improve greatly as they sent their brothers into this servitude. And Yamashita-san became a very wealthy and powerful man through the trade of the Breeders. As for us, we mostly had nowhere to go, as our clans abandoned us to this fate. Those who sought to escape the colony were imprisoned. They were not abused, as they were so valuable, but they were held in the tower here, against their will."

Kisuke took a short breath and bit his lip, looking as though he did not like having to ask the next question he raised.

"Tell me," he said quietly, "There must have been failures when these men were made over into Breeders. What was done with the failures?"

"Most were assigned positions of servitude here," Shin explained, "Having been removed from our families and stranded here in the land of the hollows, with no way to return to the Seireitei, we made our own culture. Here in our colony, the Breeders were honored and respected. Yamashita-san rebuilt our wounded pride by promising us that we were, even in our abandonment here, serving our clans in an important way. For we were seeing to the preservation of the purity of the nobles. Given that we were never abused and that we had all of our needs met here, most Breeders were content to stay. Some few Breeders and failed Breeders did rebel and tried to warn the rest of the civilization here that Yamashita-san was a liar…and that we were merely the cast offs of the clans, being gutted and turned into something they could use and profit from. Most here were weary of the clans, which had abandoned them. And since life was not terribly difficult as a Breeder, they accepted it quietly. But those who proved intractable usually disappeared, and were never heard from again. We learned later on that any whom Yamashita-san had continuing difficulty with were taken out into the desert outside the community and either killed, or left to be chased down and eaten by the hollows."

"You said that Yamashita-san was the one who finally killed all of the Breeders here," Byakuya said, "How and why did he do this?"

Shin blinked slowly, his already dark reiatsu darkening even more as he spoke.

"You have to understand," he said softly, "that to create a Breeder required the defiance of some aspects of nature. Shinigami males were not made to accommodate another soul within them, so space had to be created for the growing child. In the earliest Breeders, this was done by the creation of a reiatsu chamber made of a substance known to break down the cohesion of a soul on a limited basis, that was placed within the shinigami to accommodate the child. It was quickly discovered that the shinigamis' own procreative structures interfered with this, and often the children were stillborn because the shinigamis' bodies would resist the intrusion. This is when it became practice to use a restrictive kido to prevent the shinigamis' bodies from affecting the child growing within them. The kido was dangerous, and improperly or inexpertly applied could destroy the shinigamis' spirit centers. Sometimes, the damage was so great that the Breeder died. Yamashita-san sought the greatest minds in the Seireitei to address this issue, but he did not find a suitable answer until he came to Hueco Mundo to find a place for his planned colony of Breeders. While searching, he came across a powerful hollow, who claimed that he could make the process safer, so that Yamashita-san could produce large numbers of Breeders for his colony. In return, Yamashita-san secretly agreed to provide the hollow with an agreed upon number of Breeders and failed Breeders for his experiments. No one knows how many were given to the hollow. Yamashita-san was very secretive about it, and in any case, the Breeders were not in a position to question much, as their lives were comfortable enough. When Breeders disappeared from the colony, it was assumed they had been sold or traded to a noble house, but many of the ones marked as 'Traded' were actually given to the hollow scientist."

"Do you know what the hollow scientist did to make the process safer?" asked Kisuke.

Shin nodded.

"On the whole, the process resulted in less deaths, but unfortunately, the process used a byproduct of hollow reiatsu to create the chamber."

The group of shinigamis stared in dismay.

"Hollow reiatsu…" Tetsuya whispered.

"Yes," Shin said, sadness coming over his handsome features, "The hollow scientist replaced the corrosive element in the reiatsu chamber with a byproduct he made, using hollow reiatsu. Hollow reiatsu, as you know, repels a soul's reiatsu. And this scientist was able to create balance within the shinigami body, so that the hollow byproduct was not strong enough to overwhelm the shinigami's body. The result was that the chamber could be placed inside a male shinigami relatively safely. They learned through trial and error that if the male's procreative abilities were not diminished, then the hollow byproduct could react with the shinigami's spirit centers, causing the shinigami and child to hollowfy."

"That's barbaric!" hissed Yoruichi, the fur rising on her back.

"Use of the restrictive kido continued to prevent this, but the kido placed strain on the shinigami's spirit centers when applied and often shattered them. This was not considered important, as the function of the Breeder was not such that they needed the power anyway, so nothing was made of the pain and anguish it caused Breeders who were so affected."

"Nice," sighed Kisuke, shaking his head, "But something tells me that there was something that went wrong with that."

Shin nodded.

"Not much was known about the long term effects of the process, especially the introduction of the hollow byproduct into the shinigami's body. But as Breeders were sent out into the noble families, and as they began to produce, something happened that made everything fall apart."

Shin's golden eyes turned and fastened on Tetsuya.

"It seems that because bearing a child places strain on a soul, repeated pregnancy weakens the soul over time. And as the earliest Breeders continued to bear children, their bodies weakened, until finally, the hollow byproduct was able to corrupt their bodies and the Breeders simply hollowfied. Yamashita-san, of course, called it an aberration and he returned to the hollow scientist, who eventually found that hollowfication was going to be the eventual outcome for all Breeders made, using this method. Yamashita-san was, of course, horrified. He knew that as soon as this was discovered, his business would come under fire and he would be ruined, likely arrested and executed. He agonized over this…and finally, he decided that the only way to deal with the situation was to erase his error. He returned to the colony and invoked a repressive kido that caused us to fall into a deep sleep, then he moved through the camp, killing each of us that he, himself had created. As he killed his own creations, his heart died inside him. And by the time the last of the Breeders died, Yamashita-san was dead inside. He turned his weapon in himself and died with us, here in the valley."

"Shin-san," said Byakuya, forming the question that was in all of their minds, "Is there a way to know if this method you have described is the one used to alter my cousin's body to make him a Breeder?"

Shin lowered his eyes.

"Because I am a hollow, I can sense the presence of the hollow byproduct in him," he said solemnly, "Tetsuya-san was transformed in this way, and he will be subject to the same fate. He will be able to produce children, but with every child he bears, he has a greater risk of weakening and becoming a hollow. In addition to this, when your cousin dies, regardless of how, the hollow byproduct will cause him to become a hollow upon his death."

Tetsuya's face paled and his eyes flared, but his lips tightened against what was happening and he simply clenched his hands and gazed silently back at Shin.

"And is there no way to remove the reiatsu chamber from his body?" asked Byakuya, "Or to destroy it, so that the hollow byproduct will dissipate?"

"There is no known way to reverse the process used to transform Tetsuya-san," Shin said, shaking his head, "The hollow scientist could not find a way, and Yamashita-san destroyed the rest of us, so no other could find an answer."

"But he will not become a hollow if he remains childless?" Byakuya asked pointedly.

Shin gazed at him quietly for a moment, then met Tetsuya's eyes meaningfully.

"You could, perhaps delay the inevitable that way," he explained, "but unless a way is found to remove or destroy the reiatsu chamber, then when Tetsuya-san dies…whenever and however he dies, he will become a hollow."

"Well then," said Kisuke, "I guess I know what I'm going to be doing."

He turned to Byakuya.

"I'll get on this right away. I know we don't have any Breeders other than Tetsuya-san, but I can work with computer models…though," he said, looking up at Shin, "I could use some help understanding the workings of the Breeders, as well as some issues regarding the hollows, and access to some hollow reiatsu. Shin-san, do you think that if I remain here, you could assist me?"

Shin nodded.

"My fellow Breeders and I will assist you. I will show you the ruins of the hollow scientist's lab. There are written files, and there may be a working computer there."

"Great," Kisuke said, nodding.

"I'll go back and continue to work on the investigation into who attacked Tetsuya-san," Yoruichi said, "And I'll also study the records to see if there is any surveillance information on the Breeders colony in our archives."

Kisuke handed her the charm Byakuya had given him to allow him entrance into the Kuchiki Family Archive.

"Here," he said, "Take this and you can check the Kuchiki archive to see if there's anything more we can use."

He handed the papers he had collected, as well as the copy of the Breeder's Pact to Byakuya.

"I know you two have to get back to go meet with the council. On your way back, you should read over the pact and learn as much as you can. Maybe there will be something in there that will help us to gain some kind of advantage."

Tetsuya approached Shin and offered a hand, which the hollow accepted tentatively.

"You have my gratitude for your assistance," Tetsuya said quietly, "Arigato, Shin-san."

Shin met Tetsuya's eyes solemnly.

"No one deserves the fate that you have been threatened with," he replied softly, "Kami walk with you, Tetsuya-san. Your path will be a very difficult one. But then, despite your lack of powers, you still radiate strength."

Byakuya and Tetsuya watched as Yoruichi disappeared and Shin and Kisuke flash stepped out of the valley. Then Byakuya slipped his arms around his cousin and offered him a slow, lingering kiss.

"You know that once this meeting concludes," he said softly, "that we will be bound by the rules of the Breeders' Pact, but it will not change in any way, the way that I feel about you, the respect I have for you, the love I feel for you."

"I understand," Tetsuya responded, looking up into Byakuya's solemn, gray eyes, "and I will not take any of this personally. We will do what we must to get through this…and Byakuya-sama, we will be successful."

Byakuya swallowed hard and nodded, then indulged in several more penetrating kisses, before Tetsuya turned away and climbed onto Arashi's back, then waited as Byakuya mounted behind him. As they worked their way back to Kuchiki Manor, Byakuya scanned the Breeder's Pact, making several mental notes to use during the meeting. He knew better than to reveal that he had the full copy of the pact before reviewing it entirely, himself, but he stopped at Kuchiki Manor and copied out several pages for use in the meeting.

Upon arrival at the manor, Tetsuya retreated to his quarters. He called Torio to assist him and cleared his closet and dresser of any clothing that was not white. He then dressed in a solid white kimono and walked back out into the gardens, where he waited until Byakuya emerged from his room. Byakuya paused upon seeing him sitting quietly at the patio table, and he was taken aback by how lovely his cousin looked, even deprived of the bright blue of his house security uniform. The white shine lit his porcelain skin and gave him the serene look of an angel, albeit a sweet, solemn angel with downcast eyes and and a deeply contemplative expression. If Byakuya had found him desirable before, he looked even more tempting now as he waited quietly, saying nothing and not looking up as Byakuya approached him.

"Come," he said, offering his cousin an extended hand.

There was something electric in the touching of their hands, and Byakuya heard Tetsuya inhale sharply. He smiled at his cousin and kissed him lightly on the cheek before leading him out of the manor and towards the council hall. Tetsuya walked a step behind the clan leader, at his right shoulder and didn't lift his eyes or speak, even as friends called out greetings and a few family members who passed by eyed him questioningly. They reached the council hall and climbed the front steps, then were greeted by council security and led into the council chambers.

The elders were already waiting at their seats. Byakuya led Tetsuya to the head of the meeting table and the two sat next to each other as the head councilor stood and called the meeting to order.

Tetsuya kept his eyes lowered and his expression calm, but as the meeting began, he felt a melancholy settle over him. Nothing was going to be the same after the meeting. He was well aware of that. And as much as he loved his cousin, and as much as he understood why things had to be as they were, inside, he mourned his loss of freedom. He did so silently and privately to spare Byakuya any additional guilt. But the weight of his emotion felt like the beginning of the slow death of his soul.

And he had to wonder what would make him hollowfy first…a pregnancy, death or just the gradual depletion of his inner strength as everything that was left of the man he had been slowly faded away into the nothing he was now.

_They are enjoying this._

_They think that this will eat away at me until I break apart and die._

_But though I must bend more than ever before, nearly to the point of losing myself, for Byakuya-sama's sake…I must not shatter…_

_I must not shatter…_


	9. The First Taking

**Chapter 9: The First Taking**

"Byakuya-sama," said Nori, nodding in greeting, "Tetsuya-san, Thank you for your prompt arrival. We are ready to hear what you and Tetsuya-san have decided."

Byakuya stood and brought Tetsuya to his feet next to him. He let his eyes run around the room for a moment, then began to speak.

"I have discussed your terms for accepting my cousin, Tetsuya, as a Breeder and we have come to a decision. I have offered to claim the Breeder initiate, Tetsuya."

He looked at Tetsuya and nodded. Tetsuya cleared his throat softly and kept his eyes lowered as he spoke.

"I have agreed to accept Byakuya-sama's claim, and I agree to abide by the rules and codes of the Breeder's Pact," he said softly.

Nori nodded.

"Very well," he said, looking down at the papers in front of him, "A room has been prepared for the verification ritual. Come this way."

Tetsuya froze, staring.

"Now?" Byakuya said, frowning, "You know that our cousin is in the midst of recovery from a brutal assault. You cannot expect him to do this."

Nori considered his words and nodded again.

"You do have the right to set a time for the ritual, but we must set that time now. It can be adjusted to suit Tetsuya-san's needs."

"Very well, then," Byakuya said, glancing at his cousin, "We will return to Kuchiki Manor and have Tetsuya's physician examine him to determine when he might attempt the verification ritual."

Byakuya felt an uncomfortable knot form in his stomach as Orochi stood and met his eyes.

"My deepest apologies, Byakuya-sama," he said, turning his eyes to look at Tetsuya's downcast face, "but Tetsuya-san may not leave with you."

"What do you mean?" Byakuya asked, frowning.

Orochi took a solemn breath.

"Tetsuya-san does not belong to you yet."

"It does not matter," Byakuya said shortly, "Tetsuya is a free Breeder, and as such, since I am in the process of claiming him, I may house him in my residence as verification proceeds."

"That would be true," Orochi said, his lips quirking, "If Tetsuya was a free Breeder…but he is not!"

Tetsuya's eyes widened in distress and several council members gasped softly as Orochi crossed his arms and gazed at Byakuya in challenge.

"What are you talking about? Of course he is!" Byakuya insisted, "His parents are dead. He has no siblings and there are no heirs to his parents' estate, other than Tetsuya, himself."

"But Byakuya-sama," Orochi said, removing a page from his inner pocket, "The Breeders' Pact defines 'guardian' as the parent, sibling, heir or next closest living relative who claims responsibility. And _I_ am Tetsuya-san's next closest relative."

"You have _never_ made anything of that right!" Byakuya said in a low, deadly voice, "That you do so now is perhaps a sign I should investigate you as one of his aggressors!"

"How dare you?" snapped Orochi, "I have long been concerned that my cousin was in an inappropriate situation, but I hadn't the proper situation in my household to welcome him before. I do now. I have a room, as stated in the rules of the Breeders' Pact, proper food and medical personnel. I have white clothing prepared, and room for him to exercise. I have a personal guard prepared to monitor him at all times. I hereby claim my right to Tetsuya-san, as I am the closest living relative to him."

"And what about what Tetsuya wants?" Byakuya asked, "He certainly has no wish to live with one such as yourself, who not only has never showed any interest in his well being before, but has been one to ridicule and torment him!"

"Tetsuya-san no longer has the right to decide this issue," Nori explained, "As he has agreed to being claimed, he becomes the property of his closest living relative…or if there is none, then he can be temporarily given to you, Byakuya-sama, pending the verification ritual."

"This is ridiculous!" Byakuya hissed angrily, "This is a very obvious attempt to interfere with my attempt to claim my cousin!"

The council chambers erupted into chaos, with raised voices filling the air and loud arguments breaking out all around. Tetsuya watched out of the corner of an eye and saw Orochi glaring at him in triumph, and wearing a self-satisfied smirk. His eyes sought Byakuya, who was shaking his head and arguing along with the others.

_This is not good…not good for any of us._

_There must be something I can do…something to end the fighting, and to be able to remain with Byakuya-sama…_

He thought hard, then shivered as a thought registered in his mind. He looked around the room at the arguing councilors and took a steadying breath.

"Councilor Nori," he said, his solemn voice breaking through the noise and making the councilors fall silent, "May I have council's permission to speak?"

Nori gazed at him for a moment, then nodded.

"You may, Breeder initiate, Tetsuya-san," Nori answered.

"It seems that the question of my compatibility with Byakuya-sama is at the heart of these arguments. Therefore, I think we must move forward with the verification ritual, so that I might be able to be claimed by Byakuya-sama and the arguments be settled."

"Tetsuya, you don't have to do this!" Byakuya exclaimed, his eyes intense, "You are not ready! It has only been…"

"I know," Tetsuya said, tears rising in his eyes, "but the alternative is to be parted from you, and I will not let my weakness be the cause of that!"

Byakuya's eyes flared and his reiatsu burned around him.

"Weakness!" he said, his eyes registering disbelief, "Tetsuya, since when is it a weakness to need time to recover from sexual assault and battery? You cannot _do _this!"

Tetsuya closed his eyes against the words, and against the swell of pain in his stomach.

"I _must _do this!" he insisted, "I will find the strength. I will, Byakuya-sama! Because I would rather die than spend a moment in that man's household!"

Byakuya stared uncomprehendingly at Tetsuya, his reiatsu seething with indignation. He caught sight of Orochi's smirk and nearly removed Senbonzakura from the belt at his hip and loosed his shikai on the man. He looked back at his cousin's bowed head and shook his head in disbelief as Nori quieted the group and gained control of the meeting again.

"Tetsuya-san has agreed to undergo the verification ritual, so as to determine his compatibility with Byakuya-sama. We, of the council feel this is a fair way to decide the issue."

"How is it fair to subject a rape victim to sexual intercourse, when he has yet to recover from his assault?" Byakuya demanded, angrily.

"With all due respect, Byakuya-sama," said Nori, "Tetsuya-san has, himself, agreed to undergo the ritual now. And if you truly object to Orochi-san's claim as next of kin, then you must prove your compatibility."

"Yes," said Orochi, nodding, "I will withdraw my claim to Tetsuya if you are proven compatible."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed in fury, but he realized that he was cornered. He started to speak to Tetsuya, but Nori adjourned the meeting, and a guard led Tetsuya away from him. Byakuya waited in the council chambers, biting his lips in anger, but forcing himself to bear the awful tension. He knew that Orochi was up to something, but couldn't seem to nail down what it was. He shook his head and sighed heavily, waiting as Tetsuya was prepared for the ritual.

But as much as he tried to prepare himself mentally, when the guard arrived to escort him to the room where Tetsuya lay, waiting for him, he proceeded down the hall on shaky legs and with great misgivings.

_Why am I so convinced that this effort is only going to end in disaster?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya followed his attendant down the hallway on unsteady legs, focusing on the slow intake and exhale of breath to help steel himself against what was happening. He knew well that Byakuya was right about him not being ready to undergo the ritual, and under other circumstances, he would have agreed to wait. But Orochi's claim as next of kin unsettled him. Of all of his relatives, Orochi had been the worst, constantly putting him down and trying to rile him when they were children, and hurling nearly constant insults as an adult. There was no way in hell that he would walk into the man's house, let alone spend days and nights there as a decision was made. It seemed the lesser evil to force his fears down and just get done what needed to be done.

He followed the attendant into the room that had been prepared and stood beside the bed, waiting. The attendant approached him and bowed respectfully.

"With your permission, Tetsuya-san," he said calmly.

Tetsuya swallowed hard and nodded.

The attendant stepped forward and Tetsuya caught his breath softly as the man pulled free the tie at his waist and proceeded to remove his clothing. When he was bared, the attendant motioned for him to lie down. Tetsuya took his place on the bed, flinching, but forcing himself to remain still as the man took one hand, then the other and set them carefully in soft restraints. Tetsuya's heart began to pound and his body shivered fitfully as the attendant leaned over him and, giving him a sympathetic look, then laid a white coverlet over his exposed body and wound a soft binding over his eyes and mouth.

He wasn't prepared for the awful feeling of intense fear as the attendant left the room and someone else walked in. Footsteps sounded nearby and Tetsuya jumped and gasped as a hand touched his thigh.

"Cousin," said Orochi's voice, with false affection, "You are so unsettled. I only came to see if you were comfortable."

Tetsuya shrank away from his hands and began to struggle within the soft restraints.

His cousin's reiatsu flared hotly and the hand on his thigh tightened.

"Don't get yourself all riled," Orochi said in a low, threatening voice, "I'm not going to do anything to you. I will follow the rules to the letter, Tetsuya-san. I am not the one who will be fucking that savory body of yours. That is Byakuya-sama. I have seen the way he looks at you. He wants you this way. He dreams of sinking his cock into you like this and making you scream. And he wants you so badly that it doesn't matter if it hurts and you scream in pain. Pain? Pleasure? It's all the same when you're being screwed, ne? You do remember, right, Cousin? How it feels to be held down and fucked senseless?"

He let his fingers slide over Tetsuya's exposed genitals and touched his entrance, causing Tetsuya to struggle harder, making choked, anguished sounds.

"Would you like a reminder, Cousin? I'd be happy to give you one…but no, I would rather watch Byakuya-sama do it."

He leaned closer, his hot breath burning against the skin of the retrained man's ear and throat.

"When he takes you, you are going to break into so many pieces, there won't be any left. And then the mistake that happened all of those years ago will be erased. You will disappear, Tetsuya-san. And this clan will no longer be burdened with your presence. Our leader will no longer be burdened with pity for you."

The door opened suddenly and Orochi stepped away, leaving Tetsuya shaking and fighting to stave off tears beneath the soft binding that covered his eyes.

"Orochi-san, Byakuya-sama is ready now," a voice said.

"Very well," said Orochi, "Bring him in."

Tetsuya shuddered as he heard the attendant leave. He waited for Orochi to say something, but his cousin had fallen silent. The door opened again and Tetsuya sensed Byakuya's presence and smelled the sweet scent of sakura.

"What are you doing in here?" Byakuya demanded, "Get out!"

"The verification ritual must be witnessed by a member of council," Orochi said, standing his ground, "I am his current legal owner, so I was chosen to witness the first taking…to be sure that the rules are adhered to."

Tetsuya felt the heavy swell of Byakuya's reiatsu and could almost see Orochi take a step back. And when Byakuya's voice sounded, he was chilled with the barely restrained fury in it.

"If there needs to be a witness," Byakuya said, his voice low and threatening, "then view it from somewhere else, but do not dare to demean the two of us by saying you are going to remain in this room. Get out, or you will find yourself without even the capacity to _crawl_ out!"

There was a long pause, then footsteps, and the sound of a door closing. Tetsuya felt Byakuya move closer and felt the gentle touch of soft fingertips on his. It should have been a pleasant, comforting thing, to have Byakuya touch him in such a way. There was certainly nothing threatening about it. But as Byakuya's fingers continued to touch his, he heard Orochi's voice rise up in his fevered mind again.

_"I have seen the way he looks at you. He wants you this way. He dreams of sinking his cock into you like this and making you scream. And he wants you so badly that it doesn't matter if it hurts and you scream in pain. Pain? Pleasure? It's all the same when you're being screwed, ne? You do remember, right, Cousin? How it feels to be held down and fucked senseless?"_

Byakuya's voice sounded beside him, but he couldn't understand the words. His heart was racing too fast and it felt like ice was freezing in his veins. Other half-remembered voices rose up, distorting things even more.

_"Filthy half-breed…"_

"_Trash."_

"_You never should have been born."_

His head spun with their awful words and he felt himself plunged back into the submerged memory of what had been done to him as he laid, defenseless, at their feet.

Rough fingers sank into his hair and a weight settled onto his back. His head was pulled back and wickedly icy breath touched his skin.

"_This is what you deserve," a distorted male voice hissed, "Enjoy the ride, Tetsuya-san. The next time your eyes open, you'll be waking up in hell, where you belong!"_

_He hadn't even time to draw a breath before his legs were forced apart and the pain began. It was sharp…bitter…rending, at first, but as it continued, he disappeared into himself, his mind working quickly to bind away the memory and to bless him with soft waves of blessed forgetfulness. Instead of pain, he felt intense calm. Instead of vicious insults, he heard the gentle sound of the rain that was falling, and felt each cool, soothing droplet on his skin. And through everything, he waited. Unable to move or breathe or speak, and for the first time he could remember, being unable to fight…instead, he waited, tuning out everything and steeling himself for the end. They were going to kill him. There was nothing he could do to stop them. All that was left was to count down the last remaining moments of his life. And as he did, a face and a voice appeared in his weary mind…the one person he loved with abandon appeared in his mind and carefully placed himself between Tetsuya and the awful things they were doing to him. He was gently taken back through every moment they had spent together, stolen away from the torment and carefully protected. _

_And soon, he realized that he had been left alone. He opened his eyes and felt the rain still striking his drenched skin. The sky was black around him and he had no idea where he was. Instinctively, his mind sought Re-kuhime's. But this time, there was only silence._

_He was truly alone, lying in a pool of mud, blood and rain._

_Broken._

_No, not just broken._

_Shattered…_

_Destroyed…_

_He sensed that he would never be the same, even if his life could be saved. But even as his heart sank down into despair, some tiny part of him held on. And instead of giving in and allowing himself to quietly expire, Tetsuya's heart instead threw all of its strength into holding on to that last thread of life._

_Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out._

_As long as you keep breathing, there is hope._

_Hope of survival._

_Hope for the return of peace and calm._

_Hope for justice._

_He felt the presence of death approaching, and knew that he needed help if he was going to survive. So he drew in another long breath and released it again in a hard, agonized scream of pain. And as consciousness left him, he heard the approach of the house guards, the rise of the manor alarms. He heard friendly voices calling his name, and gentle hands turning him, lifting him off of the soaked ground and carrying him to safety._

"It's going to be all right," Byakuya's voice whispered in his ear.

Tetsuya opened his eyes and found that he was no longer bound, but sitting up and being held tightly in warm, strong arms.

"It wasn't your fault. It was too soon."

_What happened?_

The door opened and Orochi entered the room. He stood at the door, saying nothing. But his expression spoke volumes to Tetsuya.

"Get out of here," Byakuya said in an odd, trembling voice, "You are not getting anywhere near him."

"I'm not the one that just made him lose his mind and start screaming bloody murder, Byakuya-sama. That was all you."

"I said, get out of here!" the noble shouted, tension rising in his body as his emotions swelled and threatened to bring them to bloodshed.

_The guilt is an overwhelming burden to him. And I am the reason he feels it. Byakuya-sama, this is asking too much. You must not fall apart because of me._

He felt the tightness of Byakuya's hands where they held him, the readiness to rise up, to fight, to rend, to kill.

_But what peace would bloodshed bring if we come to it now? We need to build our strength. We need to position ourselves carefully for this fight. Your heart is too much in this fight already, Byakuya-sama. So I will do what I must to calm things._

Tetsuya kept his eyes lowered and gently took hold of Byakuya's hands and pulled away from them. The clan leader stared at him in surprise as Tetsuya rose from the bed and quietly tied the belt at his waist.

"Tetsuya…"

"He is rightfully mine until you complete the verification ritual. Tetsuya-san understands that, and you need to as well," said Orochi, watching as Tetsuya approached him and stood silently, waiting.

Byakuya stood and approached them, his reiatsu black and threatening. He glared at Orochi meaningfully.

"If you mistreat him in any way, you will violate the Breeders' Pact and he will return to council custody immediately," the clan leader said warningly.

He stepped closer and his reiatsu swelled until it was nearly suffocating.

"And be assured that losing him to the council will only be the beginning," Byakuya went on, "If you cause Tetsuya any additional physical or emotional injury, I promise you that your life will be forfeit. I will kill you, Orochi. I swear it."

Despite his belligerent posturing, Orochi quivered at the words.

"Come along, Tetsuya-san," he said, opening the door and backing out of the room with Tetsuya behind him.

Tetsuya followed Orochi silently as his cousin led him out of the council hall and back to his home. Orochi muttered to himself all of the way, but said nothing further to Tetsuya until he was at home and the door closed behind them. He glared at his white clad cousin, who looked at the floor and remained perfectly silent.

"Don't expect royal treatment while you are here," Orochi began, "You aren't at Kuchiki Manor anymore."

The words went on, but weariness stole over Tetsuya and made the sound fade away. He was aware of Orochi moving closer, and his voice rising up in anger.

"What's the matter? Do you hear nothing I say? Answer me, Breeder! That is an order!"

He had no idea what he had been asked, or how long he had been standing, listening silently as Orochi went on and on. But as his cousin's hands settled on his shoulders, and Orochi's cold eyes bored down into his, Tetsuya's blue eyes glazed over and he simply collapsed in the entryway. Orochi watched as he dropped onto the floor, then shook his head in disgust.

"You are more trouble than you are worth," he muttered, "You should have died that night. We should have made surer of killing you."

He turned and yelled for a servant.

"Put him in the room we prepared," he said brusquely, "And when he wakes, make sure he eats."

Tetsuya felt hands taking hold of him and lifting him, but his mind whirled with what he had heard Orochi say.

_"You should have died that night. We should have made surer of killing you."_

He was carried a short distance, set down and tucked into bed. He listened to the footsteps of the servant as he walked away and heard the click of the door locking as it closed behind him. But as much as he knew he was nothing more than a prisoner to Orochi, he saw the gift in allowing himself to fall into the man's custody.

_I know you were one of them, now. I know. And you have brought me into your household, Orochi. That was a grave mistake. You look at me and all you see are the broken, useless remains of who I used to be…well let me educate you. You have not seen the beginning of my strength, Orochi! If it is the last thing I do, I will make you and all of the others pay for what you did to me! When I am through with you, you will no longer lament that I shouldn't have been born. You will regret that you ever were!_

He sank down into a deep, restorative sleep then, his mind finding peace in the taking of that first decided step towards justice.


	10. A Shred of Evidence

**Chapter 10: A Shred of Evidence**

_Master?_

Tetsuya shifted in his sleep, feeling an uncomfortable burning in his spirit centers. He didn't want to wake, in any case, because the voice in his dream was enough to nearly bring him to tears. She couldn't really be with him, of course. His reiatsu was nearly gone and his zanpakutou had faded. He didn't dare raise his hopes as far as really hearing her voice again, but he could hear her in his dreams…

_Tetsuya watched as a cloud of pink petals rose up into the air and spun towards him. He caught sight of his cousin's determined face in the distance, on the other end of the meadow, and he knew the petals were being sent at full strength. He blocked the first strike with his blade and reiatsu, and the second with a well timed kido spell. Byakuya flash stepped closer, frowning at his cousin._

"_Come now, Tetsuya, I know you hear her voice. You have to reach out to her. Let her speak to you. She will speak to you, and you will learn what form your power will take."_

_Tetsuya wiped the damp hair from his face and nodded breathlessly. He couldn't continue to dodge and put off his cousin's power. Byakuya was terribly strong and apparently determined that his younger cousin was going to learn his shikai or pay in painful cuts and slashes. He wasn't, he found, afraid of that. That wasn't the problem._

_The problem lay deeply entrenched in his harshly conditioned mind. He might have, what he sensed was a very powerful spirit in his zanpakutou. But as a half-breed, he was expected never to raise his shikai, but only to master the mundane art of swordplay so that he could provide himself limited defense. He wasn't expected to excel. He was expected to aspire only to weakness._

_He had known from the beginning that it made no sense, but had been warned by his parents that he must not test the rules of the clan or his zanpakutou would be confiscated and destroyed. The Kuchiki blood that ran in his veins, they said, did not belong to him. And therefore, he must not pretend, even for a moment that it was his. So even when he first began to hear the whispers of the feminine voice of his blade, he settled for just feeling the pleasant touch of her voice and letting the emotions that ran through his body speak what he dared not. She nudged and cajoled, of course. And she whispered her name to him. But he had been so afraid of her being taken away, he hadn't dared to speak back to her._

_But things were different now that he was living at Kuchiki Manor. Byakuya allowed him privileges that he had never had before. He moved about as he liked. He thought of Byakuya as a friend and playmate, and he learned to fight, not just with his body, but with all of the strength in his heart._

_Byakuya knew what drove him, knew he wanted justice, and so he pushed his younger teen cousin to train hard and to pour effort into learning to fight well. He wouldn't, Byakuya told him, always be bound by the unfair rules of the clan. At some point, his powers would grow strong enough that the clan would have to value them. If they didn't, Tetsuya's growing powers could end up being used either to benefit another, more accepting clan, or they could be used against the Kuchiki family. It was only while Tetsuya was young that they would try to intimidate and limit him. And even though he was protected by Byakuya, they still tried._

_But Tetsuya didn't care. _

_He had Byakuya and he had his zanpakutou. He wasn't going to let the poor treatment he received from the others stop him. So he dealt in silence with their glares and comments, their occasional taunts and teases. He was not going to let them goad him into a reckless response. He had become much wiser since being taken in by his older cousin._

_He faced Byakuya now, looking into the stern gray eyes and reading his intent. He knew before the next volleys of kido and petals began that Byakuya was not going to pull his punches. And he didn't. Petals exploded all around him and kido fire raked his skin, throwing him back and leaving him panting and shivering with anticipation. The attacks continued to rage around him, the fine petals beginning to break through and leave their crimson markings on his skin. And as Tetsuya's pain grew and the look in Byakuya's eyes grew more fierce, he knew he would get blown off his feet if he did not change his approach to the fight. He breathed in the coppery scent of the blood flowing on his skin and watched in stunned silence as Byakuya's reiatsu swelled and a huge blast of petal blades arced towards him._

_He knew there was no time to think._

_Time, in fact, froze, for a breathless moment. And it was in that moment that the barriers he had created to prevent himself from breaking the rules meant to weaken him, crumbled. His mind opened to her suddenly and he heard her voice clearly._

"_So…you have decided to open your ears, ne shinigami?"_

"_My name is Tetsuya," he said softly._

"_I know your name. And though you refuse to acknowledge me, you know mine. I have waited for a long time for you to reach out to me. There is no time now. You need my power. Your cousin is not going to hold back. Speak these words and invoke my name. The command for your shikai is aoiro no kouu!"_

_He breathed the words without further hesitation and felt the heavy eruption of raw power all around him. And he wondered, for a moment, what to do next, then realized that it wasn't enough to fire the power from his blade. He also had to use his mind, his will to shape it. He opened his eyes and saw that his body was lit with blue light that reminded him of the surface of the nearby blue lake._

"_Water…" he whispered._

_And suddenly, the blue around him became a vibrant, water shield that slowed and trapped whatever struck it, then stole away the power of the attack. And as the power was stolen from the petals that spun towards him, Re-kuhime's voice whispered to him that his counterstrike could be an explosion of water or ice shards. He loosed the water blast and watched as a wave of blue erupted from his blade. It swept across the distance between Byakuya and him, and Tetsuya felt Byakuya's power rise in response. The ground shook with the impact of the two forces, and Byakuya and Tetsuya were forced back from each other. They slid to a stop, their attacks fading and their eyes locked on each other's. And as they exchanged that long, breathless glance, Byakuya smiled at him._

"_Congratulations, Cousin," he said, nodding in approval, "You have your shikai."_

_Tetsuya barely felt the cuts on his skin, the weariness of having been pushed to the ends of his strength. All he could focus on was the lovely tickle of that bright, effervescent spirit that lived as a part of his, then. His heart ached at the beauty of her, at the swell of power inside him, and the pride in Byakuya's eyes at having lifted him out of the role of a powerless peasant and into his new place as a shinigami._

"_B-byakuya-sama," he whispered in shock, struggling to find words to explain what he was feeling. _

_Byakuya sheathed his sword, and wrapped his shaken cousin in strong, welcoming arms._

"Re-kuhime…" Tetsuya moaned softly.

He could feel that there were others in the room with him, but, for some reason, couldn't seem to pull himself to the surface and wake fully. He remembered feeling that way after the attack and imagined he must have slipped back into oblivion for a time.

"Sir, he's been like this for three days…ever since he arrived here. We can't get him to eat if he doesn't regain consciousness!" said a nervous, male voice.

"Then bloody wake him up! Our clan leader is coming to see him in the morning and he will blame me if the bastard isn't functional! I don't care what you have to do. Find a way to wake him!"

Orochi's heavy step sounded and the bedroom door opened and closed. Tetsuya could feel the other person, a healer, he wagered, lean over him and place gentle touches on his body.

"There now, rest a bit more," he said soothingly, "And when I come back later, you must try to respond. You won't regain your strength unless you wake and eat something."

Tetsuya heard the healer's footsteps as he left and waited to hear the door lock into place as he left. But this time, it seemed, though the door closed, it was left unlocked. He took a slow breath and his eyes fluttered open.

He laid on his back on a bed in a small, windowless room that held only the bed and a small dresser. An unlit lamp sat on the dresser and the room was dark. Tetsuya sat up and rubbed his eyes, waiting as his senses slowly returned. He listened carefully, but the house seemed to have gone silent. He walked to the door and listened for a moment, then opened it and found that the hallway outside his room was also dark and no one seemed to be about. He entered the hallway and walked down its length, looking into some of the open doorways. Several held sleeping bodies, but many were empty. He slipped into one of the larger rooms to look out the big bay window at the bright moon and stars. He could feel a chill in the air, although the rain had gone.

A sound in the hallway made him freeze, and he dropped down behind the sofa as two men entered the room and the light clicked on. He recognized the first voice as Orochi's and the second as one of the other councilors…Toru.

"We can't stall forever," Toru said quietly, "Eventually, he is going to get the half-breed back. I don't know why you bothered with this if you weren't going to arrange for an accident, or for him to die quietly of heart failure or something."

"That's easy for you to say," said Orochi, pouring himself a drink, "Byakuya is just waiting for me to breathe the wrong way and he'll have Tetsuya back."

"So what will we do?" asked Toru, "Eventually, he'll go through with the verification ritual and Byakuya will get him back. Then, it's just a matter of time. I told you before that we should have just slaughtered him. We had him overpowered."

"Fumio assured me that this would work," said Orochi, "And it seemed a more effective way of sending the message to our leader not to sully our family's image and reputation by acting as though it is okay to pollute our bloodlines as Takao did or to let our power run in the veins of the unworthy."

"Why didn't the clan simply order Takao not to reproduce?" asked Toru, "They could have…"

"He had already broken the rules by running off and marrying that peasant girl. They had to assume he'd be about as likely to listen if they told him not to breed with her. It was a shame, too. Takao had great power."

"So did Tetsuya…before."

"What does it matter?" asked Orochi, sounding disgusted, "With the thinning of the Kuchiki blood, even though Tetsuya was extremely powerful, he wouldn't have been allowed to breed with a noble female and eventually the Kuchiki blood in his line would have been thinned into nothing. That power that Takao had was meant to serve our family, not to produce inferior dogs that could someday threaten the very families from which their power grew. Don't you understand, Toru? If we do not keep the power within the noble families, we can hardly expect the peasants to remain under our leadership. We've had more than a few lessons about what happens when our family's blood is allowed to escape into peasant veins. You remember Yuudai, Ryuu and Tsuneo of the Rukongai, ne?"

"Of course."

"All were very powerful," Orochi said quietly, "All of them had blood purloined from noble stock, and all three of them started groups meant to topple the noble houses and start a new society. No…we must not allow things like that to happen again. That is why we yoke the half-breeds, hold them down and do our best to make sure they do not reproduce. We don't _want _them to be powerful. We don't want our power carried on in their children. We've seen enough of our own brothers' blood spilled by them to even consider letting them have that kind of power!"

"I guess I see your point," sighed Toru, "though I do wonder…"

"What?"

"If we gave the half-breeds a place within the family…perhaps not the same as a pureblood, but a place and a name, so that they were above the servants, yet beneath us, wouldn't that do more to keep them from rising up against us? If they felt like one of us…"

"Careful Cousin," Orochi said in a soft, dangerous voice, "Do not speak blasphemy here. That kind of pandering would only give them the idea they could challenge us. The only way to keep them from rising up is to hold them down tightly."

"Which we were doing with Tetsuya until Byakuya took him in. But now, Byakuya has helped him to grow strong. And despite losing his powers, he has even more reason to hate us, Cousin. Isn't Tetsuya more likely now to turn on us?"

"And do what?" asked Orochi, "He hasn't anything left to fight with, The Breeders' Rite has stolen his powers and his ability to produce a child to avenge him, and once Tetsuya tries to prove himself as a Breeder by becoming pregnant, he will die. His peasant blood will cause him to die. We don't _have _to do anything more. So, when Byakuya comes and tries to blame me for Tetsuya's catatonic state, I will not fight him, but will let Tetsuya be returned to Kuchiki Manor."

"What?"

"We have to place our faith in the Breeders' Rite. It _will_ kill him, Toru. It will. Fumio is certain of it."

"I hope you are right, Cousin," Toru said softly, "And I hope it kills him before he can implicate any of us."

"I don't know why you worry so much about that. He was either unconscious or drugged the entire time. There's nothing in those damaged brain cells that remembers us touching him. Tetsuya cannot implicate us."

"How are you so sure, Cousin?" Toru asked, shaking his head, "I…"

"We managed to get rid of Takao and Kiko…and I took care of that weakling, half-breed lover, Soujun, myself."

Tetsuya's eyes widened.

_Soujun? Orochi killed Byakuya-sama's father?_

"_You_ killed Soujun?" queried Toru.

"Easily," Orochi said softly, "He deserved it. He let his whelp son take the half-breed in and let him become strong. And that is why we had to attack and kill Tetsuya. If not for Soujun, Ginrei would never have allowed Byakuya to bring Tetsuya to the manor, and we would not be in this mess. But we will soon be out of this. Tetsuya will become pregnant and the pregnancy will kill him…because of his peasant blood."

"Let us hope so," sighed Toru, sounding less than convinced.

"Come," said Orochi, yawning, "It's late and we'll likely be forced to meet with the council if Tetsuya is still unresponsive."

Tetsuya listened as their footsteps retreated from the room, his head spinning with what he had just learned.

_It's my fault. It was because of me that Orochi killed Byakuya-sama's father! I thought I was a burden because I filled Byakuya-sama's heart with guilt, but this…_

_Now, there is only one path for me._

_I will bring down the ones who did this…_

_And then, I will repay Kuchiki Soujun for the loss of his life…by giving Byakuya-sama an heir._

Tetsuya listened for several minutes longer, and when the house fell silent again, he rose from behind the sofa. To his surprise, as he did, a man walking down the hallway happened to look into the room. Tetsuya's eyes met the eyes of the healer and he waited breathlessly for the man to speak. The healer moved closer, studying Tetsuya's face closely.

"I sensed that you were waking earlier. I imagine that I don't have to think too hard to know why you are here, Tetsuya-san."

Tetsuya remained silent as the healer turned and opened a cabinet that contained a stunning array of lovely, well-crafted swords and daggers. He withdrew one and turned back, placing one of the sheathed daggers in Tetsuya's hand. Tetsuya stared at it for a moment, then felt a hard shock pass through his body.

_A brutally strong hand wrapped around his hair and yanked his head back. Then, Tetsuya felt the stinging pulls as something sharp was drawn across the long strands, severing them. As the severed hairs fell onto his beaten body and littered the muddy ground around him, he caught sight of a gloved hand and a dagger sliding back into its sheath. Lightning flashed, lighting the hilt of the dagger and the gloved hand that was wrapped around it._

"If anyone discovers that you have it, you are not to reveal that you had help in finding it," the healer said softly.

"Why?" asked Tetsuya, blinking away a tear, "Why are you helping me?"

The healer reached out and touched his face lightly.

"Because no one should get away with what they have done," the healer whispered, "And I think that you are the one who can bring them to justice. Be careful. They will kill you as soon as they feel threatened."

Tetsuya watched the healer leave, then slipped the dagger into his robe and followed the hallway back to his room. He stepped inside and closed the door, then turned and felt a shock go through him as he found himself facing Orochi.

"Well, Tetsuya-san," Orochi said quietly, "You are very good at playing dead…or unconscious. So tell me, where have you been skulking about tonight?"


	11. Walking Lightly

**Chapter 11: Walking Lightly**

"How's it coming?" Kisuke asked, looking over Byakuya's shoulder as the noble focused on the pages of the Breeders' Pact, "Did you find anything useful yet?"

"Not very," the noble sighed, "I was looking for references to marriages to a Breeder, but the marriage has to be performed by a member of council, and I will not even bother asking any of the elders to perform the ceremony. That is the last thing they are going to do, given how they feel about Tetsuya. I still feel that marrying Tetsuya is the answer. It will give Tetsuya full rights as a family member."

"Which is why not one of those stuffy elders will agree to marry you."

"Have you had any luck with the work you and the hollow Breeders were doing? Are there any ways you can find to reverse the Breeders' Rite or at least help Tetsuya regain his powers?" asked Byakuya, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Not so much, no," Kisuke admitted, "I have found an alteration I can make to the device that he wears to help him handle spiritual pressure. It will make it zero out any reiatsu based attacks used on him. That will help prevent anyone from using their powers to beat up on him, and if we build up his strength, it will equalize things if he has to fight someone."

"That's quite a big development," said Byakuya, raising an eyebrow, "It will help even the odds if whoever attacked him before tries again. We should make that adjustment right away."

"As soon as Tetsuya is back in our hands," Kisuke agreed, "Tomio…that's the name of the leader of the hollow Breeders…says that he and the others can build the replacement module and I'll have it at Kuchiki Manor by morning so that when you go to visit Tetsuya, you can replace the band he is wearing with the upgraded one."

"That will ease my mind greatly," said Byakuya, turning his eyes back to the Breeders' Pact and poring over the pages he had marked again, "But we really must find a way to get him out of Orochi's house. We're not going to be able to complete the verification ritual. Even trying was a mistake, I think. It was just too soon for him after what happened."

"Right," agreed Kisuke, looking up as Yoruichi flash stepped into view, "Hey, Yoruichi…"

"Kisuke," the second division taichou said, nodding.

"You have news about the investigation?" Byakuya asked quickly.

"Yes, actually. We've been following Councilor Orochi and have found that he is often in the company of councilors Shima, Fumio, Toru and Shigeo. He is not friendly with Head Councilor Nori…"

"I could have told you that," sighed Byakuya, "The two have never gotten along. Nori doesn't trust him. Something happened some time back that caused a rift between them."

"And that put Orochi at odds with quite a few councilors."

"But they still all sided together on the issue of Tetsuya being sent to the Rukongai before backing down and allowing him to attempt to obtain Breeder status."

Yoruichi nodded.

"I'm afraid that when it comes to crossing class lines, you and I are in the minority. The others are concerned that if the strong powers carried in the noble bloodlines grows among the peasants, there will be uprisings like the ones caused by Ryuu, Tsuneo and Yuudai."

"But if the family members with peasant blood were accepted and not mistreated, they would not have reason to rebel. The rebellion comes from somewhere, Senpai."

Yoruichi shook her head.

"You and I certainly believe that, but the rest of them are harder to convince."

Byakuya rested his face on a weary palm and closed his eyes.

"It's just so wrong. I think of how strong Tetsuya was…how much he could bring to the clan if they would just look at more than the peasant blood that mingles with the noble blood in his veins. He is a good hearted, decent person…loyal, trustworthy. Had they embraced him from the start instead of trying to break him down, they could have gained so much in the way of service to the clan. They are fools…"

"I know that," agreed Yoruichi, "But it is foolishness that has a long history here in the noble houses. It will be difficult to change."

She studied the slump in Byakuya's posture and the overall weariness in his demeanor and shook her head.

"You need to rest, Byakuya," she told him, "Why don't you come back to the manor with me and get some rest while I search the archive a bit more?"

Byakuya looked as though he wanted to argue, but thought better of it and rose, picking up the Breeders' Pact and following Yoruichi to the door.

"You will have the upgrade to Tetsuya's protective band by morning?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kisuke said, nodding, "I'll bring it by first thing in the morning."

Byakuya followed Yoruichi out of the hollow laboratory and back to the crossover point into the Seireitei, mulling over all of the reading he had done. And as that wore at his mind, he wondered, too, how Tetsuya was faring at Orochi's house. There had been no word of trouble, and when he had announced his intent to visit his cousin, Orochi had agreed to the visit without complaint, so he wanted to believe that meant that all was well. But still, he worried.

And those concerns gnawed at him, even as they reached Kuchiki Manor and he accompanied Yoruichi to the archive. It had him so out of sorts, he couldn't bring himself to leave the archive to sleep, but dropped down into a comfortable upholstered chair and continued to read and reread the pact.

He dozed off with the book in his hand and had entered a troubled sleep when Yoruichi returned to ask him a question and found him there. She took the book out of his hands and scanned the page he had been reading. She started to close the book, but then one of the phrases on the page jumped out at her and made her catch her breath softly. She looked down at Byakuya, then slipped away with the book. Scanning the shelves of the clan leader journals, she found one and opened it, read for several minutes, then looked back at the Breeders' Pact. Biting her lips gently, she returned to the bookshelves for another history, then compared the words in the Breeders' Pact with what she had found in the other two.

"That's it…" she murmured, glancing back at Byakuya, "This is going to send those ridiculous elders through the roof!"

She carefully gathered the references and went to wake Byakuya.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I asked you a question, Breeder," Orochi said sternly, "Now, answer me. Where were you?"

Tetsuya realized suddenly that in his surprise at seeing Orochi, he had inadvertently met his cousin's eyes. He immediately lowered his and cleared his throat softly.

"My apologies, Orochi-san."

He took a step backwards and found his back against the door as Orochi moved forward, trapping him there.

"You will refer to me as Kuchiki-sama," Orochi said firmly, "I am master of this household and your owner until such time as the verification ritual is completed and you are claimed."

"Hai, Kuchiki-sama," Tetsuya said softly.

"Now, tell me where you were."

"I…woke with little awareness of where I was. I became…confused. And I left to get my bearings…to see if anything seemed familiar. And nothing was familiar. I did not remember where I was. I became confused and wandered the house, trying to find my way back here, and only just found this room again."

"I see," said Orochi, giving him a penetrating look, "I imagine that as you lost consciousness upon arriving and you have never set foot in this house before, it is understandable, but you must not leave your room without your attendant next time. I will introduce you to him in the morning and he will make you familiar with the parts of the house and grounds that are open to you. This will keep you safe, as well as prevent you becoming lost again. Now…go and lie down. I will have food brought for you."

"A-arigato, Kuchiki-sama," Tetsuya said, shivering softly as Orochi's hand took hold of his arm when Tetsuya sought to step past him.

Tetsuya froze, knowing that the slightest shift in the wrong direction would expose the dagger where it was hidden in his robe.

"Do stay put while I am gone," Orochi said warningly.

"Hai, Kuchiki-sama."

He waited until the door closed behind Orochi and then pulled the dagger from his pocket and slipped it under the mattress in his bed. He removed his robe and returned to the bed, sitting with his back against the pillows and pulling the covers over his legs. The door opened and a servant entered the room, carrying a tray of food. Orochi followed him into the room and sat down in a chair at Tetsuya's bedside. He watched in silence as the servant set the tray in Tetsuya's lap and his cousin began to eat.

"It is good to see that you have chosen to cooperate," commented Orochi, "I had thought that, being angry over being forced to reside here for the time being, you would be rebellious to make a point."

"I have committed myself to cooperation so that I will be returned to Byakuya-sama as soon as possible," said Tetsuya, "I am motivated to cooperate."

"That is good, as I said," Orochi went on, "But as you entered the room, you did look your master…currently me…in the eyes. Although I do not relish it, I am compelled to punish you for that."

Tetsuya looked down at the tray in his lap and said nothing.

"You understand," said his cousin, "that I only do this because I must."

"Hai, Kuchiki-sama," Tetsuya said warily.

"I am not allowed to punish you physically, but must do so by confining you."

He reached over and took the tray from Tetsuya's lap.

"Stand up."

Tetsuya hesitated for a moment, but read the dangerous look in his cousin's eyes and stood. Orochi stood in front of him and reached for the tie at the waist of his yukata. Tetsuya flinched once, then stood quietly as his cousin removed his clothing. He shivered as his cousin's eyes raked his bared body, then he turned and gathered all of the clothing in the room. He left for a moment, while Tetsuya stood, hardly daring to breathe, until he stepped back into the room again.

"Lie down on your stomach."

Tetsuya's breath caught and another hard shiver went through him. He turned back to the bed and climbed onto it, then froze, with his pale, bared back to Orochi. He felt his cousin move closer and jumped as Orochi's hand touched his shoulder and pushed down. He dropped onto his stomach and stared in dismay as Orochi bound his wrists to the rails at the head of the bed with kido ropes. Orochi sat alongside his bound cousin in the bed, running a hand down Tetsuya's back and parting his thighs.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Tetsuya gasped, trying to pull away.

"Why?" his cousin asked, leaning over his bare back to breathe the words into his ear, "Are you afraid, Tetsuya-san? Does it bring back difficult memories?"

"Why are you doing this?" Tetsuya whispered.

"You made it necessary," said Orochi, running a hand over the curve of his restrained cousin's white bottom, "You broke the rules by looking into my eyes and twice now by speaking when not spoken to. I must punish you. So you will lie here naked for the rest of the night and tied down so that you will not wander away again. That adheres to the rules, you see…"

Tetsuya flinched and a pained sob escaped him as his cousin's fingers teased his entrance.

"Relax," Orochi said in a low voice, "You'd just as well better get used to this. You're going to get touched like this a lot when you become Byakuya-sama's Breeder."

Slowly, he began to push a finger into Tetsuya's entrance. Unable to bear his touch anymore, Tetsuya twisted his body and tried to kick Orochi. His cousin's face reddened with fury and he sent crawling ropes down Tetsuya's legs then wound them around the rails at the foot of the bed. He knelt between the restrained man's parted thighs and lowered himself onto his back.

"Stop!" Tetsuya hissed, struggling as his cousin's hot and erect member touched his lower back, then slid down his bottom, "I've done everything you said! Now, stop!"

Orochi went silent and stopped moving for a long moment. Then, he lifted himself and climbed off of his cousin, laughing softly.

"I think I've made my point," he said, slipping a blindfold over Tetsuya's eyes.

Tetsuya froze, holding his breath and listening intently. But if Orochi left the room, he did so in such silence that Tetsuya could not hear him leave. And so as the room fell silent and Tetsuya was left, naked, bound and…he thought…alone, he found that he couldn't allow himself to fall asleep. His muscles remained tensed and his ears strained all through the rest of the night. His heart pounded madly every time he thought he heard a footstep, and several times, he startled and cried out, thinking someone had touched him.

Finally, as dawn approached, he heard footsteps and then the healer's gentle voice sounded.

"Tetsuya-san, do not be startled. I have come to release you."

The kido on his wrists and ankles shattered and he sat up quickly, tearing the tear-dampened blindfold away from his eyes. He sat on the edge of the bed, his chest heaving and taking soft, quick breaths.

The healer set a yukata around his shoulders.

"A-arigato," Tetsuya said in a shaky voice.

He looked at the healer questioningly.

"Nobu," the man said, "My name is Nobu."

"Arigato, Nobu-san," Tetsuya said gratefully.

"I've brought you some more clothes."

"For Byakuya-sama's visit?" Tetsuya queried, "This is good enough."

"Actually," said the healer, "Kuchiki-sama has called an emergency meeting of council…and he has said that you must attend. Put these on. A servant will bring you something to eat and then it will be time to go."

He looked around and then looked back at Tetsuya.

"I would take _it_ with you…just in case Kuchiki-sama has found a way to reclaim you as his."

"You think he has?" Tetsuya asked.

"That is what my master suspects," the healer said quietly, "Kuchiki-sama is very determined to protect you."

"I know," Tetsuya answered softly, looking down at the floor, "But he shouldn't. I have only been a burden to him. I have caused him so much pain…more than he knows. Nobu-san, I do not deserve Byakuya-sama's love."

"What are you saying? Of course you do, Tetsuya-san. We servants hear the talk that goes around and Michio, Kuchiki-sama's healer says that his master couldn't have had a greater protector than you. And that alone makes it right that he should protect you now that things have become so dangerous for you. But he also says…that Kuchiki-sama is beside himself to bring you home. He barely eats or sleeps since you left, and he works non-stop to find a way to reclaim you. I think that means that this meeting was called because he found a way. Trust him, Tetsuya-san."

"I do," whispered Tetsuya, accepting the clothes from the healer and beginning to dress.

He reached beneath the mattress and retrieved the dagger, then sat on the bed and quietly ate the meal that was brought to him. And when Orochi arrived, he was careful not to make eye contact or to speak as his cousin led him out of the house and back in the direction of the council hall.


	12. The Noble's General Council

**Chapter 12: The Nobles' General Council**

Byakuya sighed in relief, smiling as Tetsuya entered the council chambers, following a step behind Orochi at their cousin's right shoulder. He still looked too pale, but there was new determination in the way he held himself, making Byakuya wonder if something important had happened while he was in Orochi's household. He approached the two.

"Greetings, Orochi-san, Tetsuya-san," he said, nodding.

"Byakuya-sama," Orochi said tersely.

"Good morning, Kuchiki-sama," said Tetsuya quietly.

Byakuya lifted an eyebrow at the formal greeting, but let it pass as he studied Tetsuya for a moment.

"You look well, Cousin," he said to Tetsuya, "I trust you have been made comfortable in Orochi-san's household?"

Tetsuya paused for a moment.

"Kuchiki-sama has made clear his expectations and I have committed myself to cooperating to the best of my ability."

Byakuya didn't miss the veiled glare that Orochi shot at Tetsuya.

"Come, Tetsuya-san," he said brusquely, "We must take our places."

Byakuya fought down a self-satisfied smirk as he watched Orochi direct Tetsuya to a chair at the meeting table and the two sat down together.

_You have no idea what is about to hit you, Cousin Orochi…_

Byakuya moved to the head of the table and took his place, then spoke quietly with the councilors near him as the rest of the councilors arrived and sat down. He continued to steal glances at Tetsuya and noticed that his lovely cousin, while not meeting his eyes, did look in his direction every so often.

_It's going to be all right now, Tetsuya. Orochi is about to lose his claim on you, and you are about to get the most beautiful shock of your life…_

The last of the councilors filed in and took their places, then Head Councilor Nori called the meeting to order.

"Thank you all for arriving promptly," Nori said, glancing at the papers in his hands, "This emergency meeting of council has been called by Byakuya-sama to establish his rights to Breeder initiate, Tetsuya-san."

"But we have already given them an opportunity to do that," said Orochi in an annoyed tone, "What makes you think that Tetsuya-san is any less likely to lose his courage and have another screaming fit when you try to take him? This is a complete waste of the council's time!"

Byakuya came to his feet, his stern gray eyes meeting Orochi's in challenge.

"I have no intention of attempting the verification ritual again," Byakuya said quietly, "I have come before council to make a request."

Orochi's eyes narrowed, and he glared at Byakuya for a long moment, and sat back in his chair, waiting.

"The council will hear your request, of course, Byakuya-sama," said Nori.

Byakuya took a steadying breath and mentally crossed his fingers.

"I will make my request simple and to the point. I must admit that I have recently come to the realization that the feelings I have for my cousin, for Tetsuya, are more than those of brotherhood or friendship. I understand that in most cases, this would cause concern amongst the elders for fear that I would forgo marriage and childbearing with a noble female."

"That goes without saying," agreed Nori, "but I sense that you have an alternative perspective to offer."

"I do," said Byakuya, "Tetsuya might not seem, at first glance, to be a proper mate for your clan leader. And under normal circumstances, I would not be approaching this council with such a request. But let me address the two issues that would seem to preclude a marriage between Tetsuya and myself. The first concern, of course, is that he is male. However, when Tetsuya's attackers chose their method of attempting to kill Tetsuya, they actually enabled him to bear children. This removes the barrier of gender in consideration of Tetsuya becoming my life partner."

"But Tetsuya-san, although able to bear a child now, is still half-peasant," argued Councilor Shima, glancing briefly at Orochi, "We cannot allow a family member of mixed bloodlines to lead us. You know that, Byakuya-sama."

A murmur of agreement went through the gathered councilors and Byakuya paused to let the room settle. He looked at Tetsuya's bowed head and downcast eyes and continued.

"It is true that we are not, by our laws, allowed to have a clan leader of mixed blood. Those are the words written into our codes. And I am committed to following them."

"Then, you cannot marry Tetsuya-san," said Councilor Shigeo, "because he is of mixed blood."

"You are wrong," Byakuya said solemnly, holding back a smile as chaos erupted around the room.

Tetsuya's eyes rose and almost met Byakuya's, their lovely blue depths reflecting sudden hopefulness.

"What are you talking about?" exclaimed Councilor Toru, "You just said…"

"Byakuya-sama," said Nori, reprovingly, "How can you, on the one hand, say that you agree that you should not take a partner of mixed blood, and yet claim to desire marriage with Breeder initiate, Tetsuya-san? You are not making sense!"

"Of course I am," Byakuya went on, "Because while it is true that Tetsuya possesses mixed noble and peasant blood, his bloodlines are not important."

"What?" said Orochi, coming to his feet, "Byakuya-sama, I think I speak for all of us when I say that the time for games has ended! This council does not need to sit and listen to your senseless rambles and wishful thinking! This council is not going to give in and allow you to marry this half-breed! And all of your useless pondering is getting you nowhere. I, for one, am through listening! Come, Tetsuya-san! We are going!"

Orochi grabbed Tetsuya's arm and pulled him to his feet, but then froze as the doors to the council chambers suddenly slammed shut and the locks snapped into place. Orochi turned on Byakuya, giving him a deadly glare.

"Open those doors, Byakuya-sama!" he demanded, "You have no right to detain me or anyone else, here!"

"Actually," said Byakuya in a calm, unruffled voice, "As Head Councilor Nori has not received clearance from me to end the meeting, you are required to remain. Sit down, Councilor Orochi."

Orochi's reiatsu flared, but dropped back into his chair, dragging Tetsuya down with him.

"Byakuya-sama," Nori said, studying the clan leader and then glancing at Tetsuya, "I think you have the full attention of the council. And I feel justified in asking you to make your point, as I must agree with Councilor Orochi, that you do seem to be playing games with us."

"I assure you," said Byakuya solemnly, "I am not playing games. You have merely misunderstood me. You seem to think that Tetsuya is not a proper mate for me and you claim that it is because of his mixed blood."

"And you said that you are committed to obeying our law that would prohibit you from marrying a partner of mixed blood."

"The law, as written, does not prohibit me from marrying a partner of mixed blood," said Byakuya.

"What?" said Nori, blinking.

"The law states, and I quote, 'No clan leader is to take as a spouse, a partner incapable of providing a full-blooded heir. Tetsuya is of mixed blood, but because his attackers used the Breeders Rite upon his body, any child he produces will carry only noble blood."

"Ridiculous!"

"Out of the question!"

"There is no way we will accept this!"

The objections rose into a roar around the room, and as the elders argued, Tetsuya's eyes rose quietly and met Byakuya's gratefully for a moment.

"You can argue all you like," Byakuya continued, causing the room around them to go quiet again, "but you cannot deny that my desire to marry Tetsuya does not violate the letter of the law. This council must allow my wedding to proceed."

Orochi brought his hands down on the table in fury.

"This is outrageous, and you know it!" he cried angrily, "Our predecessors never intended for us to have filthy peasants and half-breeds sharing beds with our clan leaders!"

"That law," Byakuya said calmly, "was written in the time of the Breeders."

"But the Breeders were noble," argued Nori, "Some of them were just of lower noble houses, thus the need for the Breeders' Rite so that they would only carry on the blood of the non-Breeder mate!"

"There is nothing in the entirety of the Breeders' Pact that identifies the 'lower blood' referred to in the pact as being lower noble blood. It is never defined, and is irrelevant anyway, as the blood of the Breeder does not affect the child born," explained Byakuya.

"And how would you know what was in the entirety of the Breeders' Pact?" snapped Orochi, "We don't have a complete copy!"

Byakuya withdrew his copy of the Breeders' Pact and held it up as attendants appeared and delivered copies to all of the councilors. Orochi stared in surprise, his reiatsu spiking dangerously. He picked up the copy of the Breeders' Pact that was set before him and tore it in half.

"None of this matters," he insisted, "because the Breeders' Pact gives me the right to claim him as my property. As part of my household…"

"But you claimed him as property," Byakuya said quietly, "so technically, Tetsuya is not of your household. You certainly have not granted him household privileges."

"Of course not!"

"And as he is property and not a house member, your clan leader has the right to emancipate him from you for his own use, if he deems it necessary."

"Again, you overstep…using rules never meant for this to…"

"I assure you that everything I am doing obeys the exact letter of the law. Head Councilor Nori, Councilor Fumio," Byakuya went on, "Can you find any place in what I have argued where I deviate from the exact wording of the law?"

The two councilors spent several minutes poring over the relevant codes, then looked up and shook their heads in defeat.

"We can find no place where Byakuya-sama's request violates any law," Nori said, "However, as you know, all clan leader weddings must be officiated by a member of council. This is true in our laws and it is true in the Breeders' Pact."

"Good luck getting any of us to go along with that!" said Orochi, crossing his arms and smirking.

"You mean," Byakuya said, a smile threatening at the corners of his lips, "that not one among you will agree to marry Tetsuya and me?"

"I think that goes without saying," said Nori, shaking his head, "It seems that you have gone to a great deal of trouble for nothing, Byakuya-sama…unless someone among the elders wishes to volunteer?"

They looked around the room, then back at each other.

"As you see," Nori concluded, "There is no member of council who will…"

"Ah, but there is," Byakuya said, nodding to a waiting attendant, who led Yoruichi into the room.

"What?" exclaimed Nori.

"What is this about?" shouted Orochi, "The Shihoin leader is NOT a member of council! And do not try to tell us that the writers of our codes meant that our weddings could be overseen by rival leaders!"

"That wasn't their intention, I freely admit," Byakuya said, nodding, however, if you consider the rules from a historical standpoint, there is precedent. First, the Breeders' Pact identifies in the sections I've highlighted for you that 'council' in the text refers to the Nobles' General Council of the time. The Nobles' General Council of the time was made up of the clan leaders of all of the clans and an elected council leader. And under the definition of those laws, ANY clan leader is acceptable as a 'member of council.'"

"But even so," Nori argued, "Our clan laws define…"

"Our clan laws, in no way specify that it must be a member of our council, and in fact, many Breeders' weddings on the past were officiated by other clan leaders, as a clan leader could not preside over his own wedding."

But we are no longer under the rule of the Nobles' General Council," Nori stated, "That was altered to become a casual group, meeting for the management of clan issues on a more casual basis, after most of its duties were given to the officers of the Central 46."

"Yes, but the Nobles' General Council was never officially disbanded and the laws in both the Breeders' Pact and our own codes, written in that time were never amended to _exclude_ another clan leader from presiding over a clan leader's wedding. Granted, the clan leader usually seeks council agreement, but no law or code requires it."

The room went silent as the twenty councilors, silently pondered just how they had all been undone. Orochi glared at Byakuya, his reiatsu causing the councilors around him to flinch uncomfortably.

"Now," said Byakuya, "Tetsuya, come forward, and Shihoin-sama will marry us."

Tetsuya stared at Byakuya, his eyes filled with shock at how quickly his situation had changed. His legs shook as he came to his feet and started towards Byakuya. As he moved forward, something inside Orochi broke, and he surged to his feet, drawing his zanpakutou and slashing at Tetsuya's unprotected back. A flash step sounded and Orochi suddenly found himself facing Byakuya, with their weapons crossed. Byakuya held his sword ready in one hand and had his other arm curled around a stunned Tetsuya, whom he had pulled out of harm's way.

"Damn you!" Orochi hissed, tearing his sword away and sheathing it, "This is an outrage!"

"If you have an objection to my wedding, you have two options," Byakuya said sternly, "You can make a motion to council to object, but you will find that it will do you no good. I have researched this carefully and you will find nothing in what I am doing that violates any law. Your second option is to challenge me to a duel to the death for leadership of the clan. Would you like to do that?"

Orochi's lips trembled in protest, but he shook his head silently and dropped down into his chair defeatedly. Yoruichi smiled and joined Byakuya and Tetsuya at the front of the room as the stymied councilors watched in silence.

"We are gathered here to witness the joining of clan leader, Kuchiki Byakuya and Breeder initiate, Tetsuya-san. Both Byakuya and Tetsuya have indicated their desire to form this union, and I ask you now, Kuchiki Byakuya, do you seek this union freely, and without reservation?"

"I do," said Byakuya.

"And you, Tetsuya-san, do you seek this union freely and without reservation?"

"I do," whispered Tetsuya, his voice shaking softly.

"Then we shall proceed," Yoruichi said, nodding, "Do you, Tetsuya-san, take Byakuya-sama to be your lawfully wedded spouse, to have and to hold from this day forward? Do you promise to love, honor and cherish him for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for all of the days of your lives?"

"I will," promised Tetsuya, breathlessly.

"And do you, Byakuya-sama, take Breeder initiate, Tetsuya-san, to be your lawfully wedded spouse, to have and to hold from this day forward? Do you promise to love, honor and cherish him for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for all of the days of your lives?"

"I will," promised Byakuya.

"Tetsuya-san, do you have any words for your fiancée?"

Tetsuya smiled and nodded, then turned to face Byakuya.

"Byakuya-sama, life has never treated either of us gently, except that in our struggles, we were gifted with each other. We grew up, side by side, and always you pushed me to grow stronger and more powerful. I devoted all of my strength to your protection, and as the years passed, my protectiveness became love. I never dreamed that you would return my feelings, or that, being a half-blood, I would ever be allowed this honor. But having been granted this miracle, I embrace it…and you…wholeheartedly. I offer you, Byakuya-sama, my hand, my heart and my undying love."

"Byakuya-sama?" said Yoruichi.

Byakuya nodded and took Tetsuya's hands, looking deeply into his wide, damp eyes.

"Tetsuya, you have been my cousin and closest friend for many years. And always, since the beginning, when we first found each other, you have given me your unfailing loyalty and protection. I have watched you grow from a small, shy boy who wouldn't stand up for himself to someone who defines what strength really is. Powers or no powers, you have the strongest heart of anyone I know, and you never stop fighting for the people and things that are important to you. When you were attacked, I mourned, thinking that your strength was gone, but you have given new meaning to that word in continuing to fight for your recovery. I know you will be successful in this. And I plan to be at your side as we find our way forward from here together. I offer you my hand, my heart, my undying love and the one gift I know will mean the most to you…the Kuchiki name you have been denied for so long."

Tetsuya's face went white and he staggered back, looking stricken. His eyes filled with tears and he dropped onto his knees as objections rose around the room.

"A half-blood cannot use our family name!"

"Is he crazy?"

"He can't do this!"

"Actually," said Yoruichi as Byakuya dropped to his knees in front of his overwhelmed life partner and pulled him close, "As a Breeder made a clan leader's spouse," said Yoruichi, "The Breeders' Pact grants full family rights to Breeders who marry a clan leader. This council has no grounds to object to either Byakuya's union with Tetusya-san or Tetsuya-san's elevation to full family status. And now, by the power vested in me, and the rights granted to me by our laws and the Breeders' Pact, I declare you, Kuchiki Byakuya and Kuchiki Tetsuya, partners in life, bonded in love and joined with the blessing of this very stunned council! You may now exchange a kiss as a token of your love, and as your first gift to each other as you embark upon your life together!"

Byakuya leaned forward and took Tetsuya's tear drenched face in his hands, then placed a gentle kiss on his trembling lips. Tetsuya's wide, blue eyes stared, almost uncomprehendingly as Byakuya kissed him again and lifted him into his arms, turning them towards the chamber doors. The locks released and the doors opened, and Byakuya flash stepped back to Kuchiki Manor, carrying a quietly sobbing Tetsuya. He flash stepped through the front gates and down the walkway to his bedroom, where he set his shaken spouse on his feet again and looked into his wet eyes.

"Are you all right, now?" he asked softly, "Kuchiki Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya stared into his eyes and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"Byakuya-sama," he whispered, "Byakuya-sama, you have given me a name!"


	13. The End of the Rain

**Chapter 13: The End of the Rain**

"Kuchiki Tetsuya," Byakuya said, coaxing his chin upward so that their eyes met.

Tetsuya started to look away, but was stopped as Byakuya shook his head and held his cousin's face in both hands.

"Byakuya-sama…"

Byakuya shook his head again.

"You don't need to call me that anymore, Tetsuya."

"Wh-what?" his blue-eyed spouse said uncomprehendingly.

Byakuya smiled.

"You may dispense with the honorifics, Tetsuya," he explained, "By marrying me, you have been elevated to full family status."

"But…the…I'm a…half-blood! And the Breeders' Pact…" he stammered, swaying unsteadily.

Byakuya guided him to the bed and the two sat down beside each other. Tetsuya stared down at his hands in confusion, as Byakuya brushed the unruly hairs away from his face and kissed him on the cheek.

"You are my spouse," Byakuya went on. "You are no longer held down by the clan rules or by the Breeders' Pact. You are freed of those things."

"S-so, I don't have to…"

"You may wear the Kuchiki name proudly now, Tetsuya. Your clothing may be any color you choose."

He slipped a hand under his new spouse's chin and brought their eyes together.

"You may look me in the eyes and walk beside me, and not a step behind. And you will call me Byakuya."

"But…"

Byakuya smiled.

"Do I need to take you up to the waterfall and give you a good soaking so that you will remember?"

He felt relief at the sudden, soft laugh that Tetsuya gave as acceptance settled over him and his taut body relaxed. He caught his breath slowly, letting the realization settle over him and carry the tension away.

"That's not necessary…Byakuya," Tetsuya answered, meeting his eyes squarely.

"Good," the clan leader said, slowly leaning forward and bringing their lips together.

Tetsuya's eyes remained locked on his as they exchanged several slow, lingering kisses.

"You do know this won't be the end of it," Tetsuya said, pulling away for a moment, "After everything, they won't give up so easily."

"Of course they won't," Byakuya acknowledged, "And we will have to be extremely careful. You have to promise me that you will let me protect you from them."

Tetsuya considered his words.

"Of course," he said, nodding, "I would be rather useless attempting to fend them off myself."

Byakuya frowned.

"Do not speak that way about yourself. You cannot help what was done to you, Tetsuya."

He paused for a moment, thinking.

"That reminds me. There was something I was supposed to give you, but I didn't have the chance before."

He removed a slim golden band from his pocket and slipped it onto Tetsuya's wrist, then removed the silver band. Tetsuya gazed at the new band, tilting his head curiously.

"This is an upgrade, ne?" he queried, "It feels different."

"Yes," said Byakuya, nodding, "It's a wedding gift to us, from Kisuke. He says that if you are attacked with anything that is reiatsu based, be it weapon or kido, this band will zero out the power of the attack, so that it will not affect you."

Tetsuya caught his breath softly in amazement.

"So…even your ban kai wouldn't…?"

"He does not think so. But of course, we do not want to test that. In fact, I would never want to have to learn the answer to that. Rather, we should avoid you being attacked again."

"But Byakuya, you _know_ what this means! If I am attacked, it will come down to a physical battle…a battle of strength and swordplay. And if I regain my physical strength, I will be able to fight!"

Byakuya gazed at Tetsuya's beautiful, hopeful expression and found himself momentarily speechless. He stared into his cousin's lovely face and nodded.

"It looks as though you and I are going to be crossing swords again soon," he said softly, "The sword I gave you is still here, where we left it. And after a good night's sleep, we will go out to the meadow and begin our rebuilding."

He leaned forward and kissed Tetsuya gently, then rose and started towards the door.

"Byakuya?" queried Tetsuya, looking up at him from where he sat on the bed.

Byakuya looked back at him quietly.

"It _is_ our wedding night."

"Yes," the clan leader said, turning his head to look out into the gardens.

"Then…we are obligated to consummate our marriage."

Byakuya was silent for a moment.

"No."

Tetsuya's blue eyes registered surprise.

"But…it is customary to…"

"I will not risk your health," Byakuya said in a low, serious tone, "That band I placed on your wrist would counteract the kido I would use to prevent you from being impregnated."

"Why would you not want me to become pregnant, Byakuya? I may have married you, but I am physically still a Breeder. In fact, it is the one use I do have."

Byakuya stepped back across the room to where Tetsuya still sat on the edge of the bed. He touched his cousin's face gently and raised Tetsuya's wide, blue eyes to meet his.

"Tetsuya," he said softly, his eyes shining with affection, "You are far more to me than a Breeder. I love you. And I will not do anything that would endanger your health, physical or emotional. You have endured too much recently and need more time before we may become intimate. And in any case, as I said, that band will cancel out…"

He stopped and stared as Tetsuya focused for a moment on the gold band, then slid it off his wrist and set it on the nightstand. He looked Byakuya in the eyes, unblinking.

"I believe I have removed that impediment."

"You should put that back on."

"I will," promised Tetsuya, "once I have given myself to you. If you mean for this marriage to be real, then you must stop treating me as though I will break at any moment. I may look it, but I am not fragile, nor have I ever been."

"I would not suggest you were," Byakuya said softly, tracing the other man's cheek with his fingertips, "However, I do not wish for our joining to be painful to you. And when we attempted the verification ritual before…"

"That was…different," Tetsuya said shortly, "I was…unsettled by Orochi-san's presence in the room."

"But he wasn't in the room when I laid down with you. We were alone, and when I just put my hands on you and kissed you…"

"I…was undone by the knowledge they were watching. Byakuya, I do not fear being touched by you. That isn't what made me react."

"Then what happened? Did Orochi threaten you when he was alone with you? Did he put his hands on you?"

"Byakuya, this isn't about Orochi-san," Tetsuya said, taking the clan leader's hands and sidestepping his questions, "This is about you and me. I need you to be honest with me. Did you marry me because you love me, or was it merely your way of cupping me in your hand so that our family would not be able to completely crush me? I can bear the answer either way, but I need to know the truth."

Byakuya sat down on the bed beside him again and took Tetsuya's face in his hands.

"Didn't you hear what I said to you at our wedding?" he asked, gazing steadily into his spouse's stormy blue eyes, "Our friendship, the closeness we shared for all of these years, has grown into love. I will admit that I want to protect you, even as you have always sought to protect me. That is part of the love we share. But it does not define what I feel for you. Nor will taking you to bed. Our hearts have always been what defined us to each other, and I think that if you trust what is in your heart, you will know what is also in mine."

Byakuya kissed him again and started to rise, but was pulled back down and into a deep, penetrating kiss. Tetsuya's eyes closed and his arms wrapped tightly around the clan leader, holding him in place as Tetsuya sucked Byakuya's tongue into his mouth and teased it longingly with his. His eyes opened halfway and held Byakuya's as he continued to encourage his spouse's tongue to penetrate deeper and deeper into his mouth. Byakuya's arms folded around him and the feel of his mouth on Tetsuya's went from tentative to hungry. His tongue probed his cousin's mouth searchingly, stroking and exploring all of its surfaces and leaving Tetsuya's face and throat sweetly flushed.

As they parted, Byakuya realized that as they had kissed, Tetsuya had loosened his clothes so that they drifted off of his shoulders and fell down onto the bed, leaving his pale body bared. Those same hands pulled at the tie at the clan leader's waist and made his clothes drop down onto the floor. The blue-eyed shinigami crawled backwards as Byakuya moved forward and trapped Tetsuya's softly trembling body beneath his.

Tetsuya felt the dagger he had concealed in his clothes touch his back, and as Byakuya sank into his mouth again and laid their bodies against each other, he carefully pulled it out from underneath his body and slipped it underneath the mattress.

He felt Byakuya's mouth seeking his throat and tilted his head back, his heart catching painfully at the intimate contact. It still made him feel a coldness inside, but the feeling was not so overwhelming now. And he was determined that it would not stop them from making love.

_I have burdened Byakuya's heart enough. I will make him happy, here in our bed, and in the rest of the ways I am able to as well. I will bear him a child…and someday, I will avenge the deaths that our clan's hatred caused._

_I will…_

_I will…_

_I will…_

"What are you thinking?" Byakuya asked between kisses, his hands sliding down his cousin's slender body, exploring its curves and planes with slow, gentle caresses.

"I was thinking of how long I have wanted your hands to touch me like this…and how I once thought that such desires were hopeless ones…that Byakuya-sama would never look at me that way…would never feed my heart with such sweet caresses. I am so glad to have been mistaken about that. Your kisses make me feel as though my feet have left the ground…as though I'll not touch down on solid earth again. Byakuya…I could live and breathe for this."

Byakuya smiled and brushed his face against Tetsuya's affectionately.

"I should hope you would aspire to more than decorating my bed, Kuchiki Tetsuya," he said, stroking one erect, pink nipple and teasing the other lightly with his tongue, "although certainly, you are quite a lovely spectacle, bared and spread across my bed, your skin lit with moonlight like this…"

Tetsuya took a trembling breath, as much affected by his lover's words as by the warm touches on his body. He fought down another painful jolt of memory and pushed his hips upward, sliding his length along another that was hot and leaking as Byakuya's mouth sank into his again and he felt his cousin's hand slide slowly down his torso.

He didn't mean to make a sound, and the one that escaped him radiated fear and pain. Byakuya stiffened and sought his eyes. Tetsuya looked back at him steadily.

"Please do not stop, Byakuya," he whispered, "The ones who hurt me have stood in the way of our love for too long. We will never get beyond this point if we do not face our fears."

Byakuya remained still atop his body for a long, breathless moment, then loosed a sigh and let his hand continue along its path. It tickled the skin of Tetsuya's slim abdomen, then curved around their touching erections, rubbing them as they fell to kissing again, and Tetsuya moaned and moved restlessly beneath the clan leader. He couldn't suppress a shudder and a soft gasp as Byakuya's fingers stroked his soft sac, then moved down farther to lightly explore his entrance.

"B-byakuya!" Tetsuya moaned, closing his eyes.

He almost cried out as his cousin's finger pushed into his entrance. He bit down on his lip and forced his body to remain still, though sweat broke out on his forehead and he felt oddly dizzy. And everything seemed to take on added intensity…the moonlight touching them, the weight of Byakuya's gaze, the heat of his body against Tetsuya's and the inevitability now of their lovemaking. He buried his face in Byakuya's shoulder and focused everything on forcing himself not to react as Byakuya's finger slid in and out of his body, then, kissing Tetsuya harder, he added a second finger. Tetsuya realized then what was about to happen and pulled away.

Byakuya looked at him, worry reflected in his dark, gray eyes, but Tetsuya turned and laid down on his stomach.

"I think this way…is more comfortable for me."

He hoped that Byakuya would not question it, and sighed in relief when his cousin settled onto his back and pushed his fingers inside Tetsuya again. Tetsuya hid his hands where they clenched the pillow and used it to muffle the sounds he made as Byakuya's fingers pushed in deeper and found the center of pleasure inside him. And although the contact felt like pleasure and his cock hardened in response, a soft sob escaped him, but was hidden from Byakuya as he pressed his face harder against the pillow and forced himself to calm. He almost came undone as a third finger pushed into him, and he had to remind himself to breathe as Byakuya's fingers thrust in, finding that same place inside him and dragging a groan from deep within his chest that made Byakuya stop and rub light circles on his back.

"Are you all right?" Byakuya whispered, stroking his back and touching his hair.

"Yes," Tetsuya managed, hardly trusting his voice, "I was just…overwhelmed for a moment. I…this is…I must admit, it is more than I have ever experienced. My apologies for overreacting."

Byakuya smiled and brushed the hairs away from the side of his throat and kissed his way down its graceful length.

"You are not overreacting. The emotions can be strong when being taken for the first time."

"B-but it isn't…"

"Shh, don't think about that now. That wasn't lovemaking, Tetsuya. This is. This is our first joining with each other…the first profound declaration of our love. Relax…and let me show you what love feels like."

"Byakuya…" Tetsuya whispered, his mind going into a hard spin as his legs were gently parted and Byakuya positioned himself over his cousin's white back.

A painful memory flashed in his mind of Orochi lying along his back with his hardness tormenting Tetsuya's entrance. Tears rose in his eyes and he was shaking again, but he hid everything from his cousin and Byakuya moved forward to claim him. There was a moment of pain, then Byakuya's hips were moving in short, gentle thrusts, pushing gradually further inside him. Tetsuya turned his face to the side, relaxing slightly as the pain faded and Byakuya's length filled him. Byakuya's lips touched his cheek and a warm hand wrapped around his length, stroking in time with his cousin's movements atop his back. Tetsuya felt the tension recede and pleasure licked at his body as Byakuya thrust into him, at the same time, sliding his hand up and down his thickened arousal. Tetsuya moaned helplessly, raising his hips wantonly and then thrusting into Byakuya's moving hand. Byakuya's hardness found that wonderful place inside him again, thrusting into it more roughly and awakening his body with lovely jolts of pleasure so intense, he couldn't help moaning louder, gasping his cousin's name and loosing a hard cry as his pleasure peaked. His body stiffened and hot spurts of thick fluid pulsed out of him and onto Byakuya's stroking hand. Byakuya laid down tightly against his back, pushing deep inside him and moaning his name as heat flashed inside Tetsuya, making him cry out again, and his body was then filled with his lover's seething release.

Tetsuya gave a long, shivering sigh, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth of Byakuya's body against his back, the radiating heat inside him and the calm, soothing movement of his lover's hands as they continued to caress him absently.

It had been difficult, giving himself to Byakuya as he had. He was well aware that he hadn't been near ready for such a thing. But having made himself go through with it, he wasn't sorry. Byakuya had been exceedingly gentle and accommodating. And the sensations, once he had gotten around his fears, had been deeply pleasant. And, he told himself, it would get easier each time they made love.

And someday, he would be able to make love with Byakuya fearlessly. He wouldn't always be imprisoned by the wickedness that Orochi and his other attackers had visited upon him. Tetsuya sighed again and let his mind fall away into the pleasantness of sleep. As his mind disappeared into the darkness and silence, he smiled at feeling Byakuya's fingers lace lightly together with his.


	14. Rebuilding

**Chapter 14: Rebuilding**

**(A/N**For those who would like to see Walkure's pics of Tetsuya and the clip Byakuya puts in his hair in this chapter, go to deviantart and look up Walqure. She has those and other great fanart...and I'm not just saying that because a lot were inspired by my stories! But you'll see what an awesome artist she is! Be sure to leave feedback! Thanks, Spunky)**

Tetsuya felt a light tugging on his hair and opened one blue eye to look up at the one holding the odd cluster of long strands on the left side that had escaped damage in the attack. Where the rest of his hair was short and uneven, these strands were a long silken reminder of what used to be. Since the attack, his fingers had often found that cluster of hairs and run from base to tip as his heart twinged painfully. It should have been a minor thing, all things considered, but he had loved the way his long hair had brushed against the skin of face, throat, shoulders and back, and how it was as hard to tame as Arashi had been. It had long been the only outward expression of defiance he had dared to show. And now it stood as a painful reminder of the place the clan had meant for him to have.

But, he thought, an unbidden smile touching his lips, they hadn't had any clue of the lengths to which Byakuya would go to fight their intolerance…

His eye met his cousin's curiously now as Byakuya gazed quietly at the long cluster of black strands and slowly began to work them into a braid. Tetsuya watched as his spouse's graceful fingers captured the long hairs, separating them carefully and parting them into three, then slowly turning and twisting the lengths around each other, smoothing and calming them until they turned in the direction he chose for them. Byakuya worked silently, a gray eye studying Tetsuya's wondering expression and the other focused on the strands between his fingers. He reached the end of the braid and fastened something near the end to hold the braid in place. Tetsuya opened his mouth to object as Byakuya took a pair of scissors and brought them close, but then froze as they made a very few snips, then stopped. He turned his head slightly to view the results in the mirror on the nightstand and found himself smiling. The hairs that fell around his eyes and face still looked as wild and untamed as they had before, and the places around the sides and back that Byakuya had cut had a wispy, tapered look to them. The long braid ran down over his left shoulder and rested against the upper part of his breast, held at the end by the lovely porcelain clip Byakuya had placed at the end.

He ran his fingers down the finished braid as Byakuya watched, took hold of the clip and looked more closely, then gasped softly and looked at Byakuya in surprise. The clip was a lovely blend of white and royal blue, and was made with the same porcelain and textured the same way as Byakuya's own kenseikan. It had raised edges at top and bottom, with a polished, smooth body, and a piece at the top that was reminiscent of the tapered dorsal fin on a sailfish. A tiny diamond shaped crystal rested on each tip, and silver chain ran through them and into the braided hair. The front of the clip was decorated with a hand painted pink sakura blossom.

Byakuya smiled at the stunned look on his face and leaned forward to kiss him. Tetsuya rolled onto his back, looping his arms around his spouse's shoulders and wrapping his legs around his slender torso. He pulled Byakuya down on top of him, meeting him for a flurry of ferocious kisses. His thighs tightened around Byakuya and he pushed his hips upward, rubbing their awakening lengths together.

There were no words that Tetsuya could think of to show Byakuya his gratitude, so he poured the strong emotion into the rough, hungry kisses, the searching, passionate touches and the grateful, smiling gaze he offered Byakuya as the two wound their bodies around each other and surrendered to their desires again.

And for the half-breed son of Kuchiki Takao, the most wondrous thing was how, after having resigned himself to a loveless, powerless, lifeless existence, suddenly all of the darkness and intolerance that had slowly worn away at him had faded into the background. He had more than he had dared ever dream of. It wasn't just that Byakuya's love protected him from the intolerance of his own family. It was that he could finally wear the name his father had always wanted to give him and could not. He had the love of the cousin who had been everything to him since losing the only two people in the world he thought had ever cared for him. He had gained a future beyond being looked down on and held carefully in check. And he had leave now to use his powers as he chose.

Tetsuya felt a pang of deep sadness at this last. To finally have the right to proudly raise Re-kuhime without having to be cautious of the strictures the family placed on him to hold him down was a beautiful gift. Except that Re-kuhime was gone. Except for that ghostly echo of her voice that sounded in his mind as he slept, she didn't exist anymore. The gold band Byakuya had given him offered protection for him and the ability for him to regain the ability to protect himself, but nothing could fill the void inside him that his missing zanpakutou occupied.

Not being one to dwell upon the impossible, he gritted his teeth and moved forward. He might be Byakuya's spouse and not be subject to the awful restricting rules that guided the lives of the Breeders. But he was a Breeder still. He still had no powers to offer Byakuya, nothing to repay him for everything he had done ever since offering hope to Tetsuya that not everyone held him in low esteem, not everyone hated him for the peasant's blood that ran in his veins, and not everyone would have liked to have seen him drowned before he dared to draw his first breath. Those were precious things, and he wanted badly to give Byakuya something in return, so as his cousin crawled down his body, treasuring his responsive lips, the pale, soft flesh of his throat, and the sculpted curves and planes of chest, abdomen, hips and thighs, his hand strayed to the nightstand and retrieved the gold band. Byakuya paused, gazing at it for a moment as Tetsuya gave him a meaningful stare and started to slide it onto his wrist, nullifying the kido that his cousin had employed to keep him from conceiving.

Byakuya's eyes darkened and his lips tightened. He captured Tetsuya's wrist in one hand and looked his cousin squarely in the eyes.

"I am sorry," he said, touching the gold band lightly, "but we cannot walk that pathway, Tetsuya."

"And why is that?" Tetsuya asked, meeting his cousin's eyes fearlessly, "We can try to pretend and we can avoid the mention of it, but Byakuya, we know that in the end, my usefulness comes down to that one thing. I can give you a child, an heir…and that is all that I can give you. Why would you deny me the one thing I have left to offer?"

Byakuya kept his eyes focused on Tetsuya's and slowly slid the band off of his wrist. He set it back on the nightstand, then gently disentangled himself from his lover's body. He spread his legs, straddling Tetsuya's body, and captured his cousin's arousal in one hand and brought it to his entrance. Tetsuya's blue eyes flared rebelliously for a moment, but then slid into regretful acceptance.

"You give me more than you realize, Tetsuya," Byakuya said, leaning down to kiss him, "And I will never do anything that I know will hurt or endanger you. You mean too much to me. So do not ask me to do that. Be with me. Love me. That, in and of itself is more than enough to settle things between us, watashi no koi."

Tetsuya froze under the weight of Byakuya's warm, steely gaze. He was gripped by warring urges, one to continue to argue the point, and another to surrender to Byakuya's offer to allow himself to be taken. But even as Byakuya prepared to sink down on him, Tetsuya shifted his body, turning so that his cousin wouldn't have to see his disappointment.

"What are you doing?" Byakuya asked quietly, gazing down at Tetsuya's bare back for a moment.

Tetsuya closed his eyes and swallowed hard, not wanting to make things worse than they were, but not knowing how to fix them.

"It wouldn't be proper," he said, more calm in his voice than he felt, "No matter how you would do this to make me feel more your equal, the truth is that I am not, and will never be that. I would rather look the truth in the face, Byakuya-sama. I will always be the lesser of the two of us, and I accept that. You should as well."

He shivered as he felt the dark swell of his cousin's rising anger, but forced himself to remain still and composed as Byakuya remained poised over his back for a moment, then in a wickedly swift move, shifted his weight, gaining purchase on Tetsuya's resistant body and flipped his surprised cousin onto his back. He laid his body against Tetsuya's, holding him in place and glaring down into his wide, stunned eyes. Tetsuya stared back, frozen under his cousin's powerful gaze and waiting breathlessly.

"Kuchiki Tetsuya," Byakuya said in a low, commanding tone, "While I admit that I am the clan leader and because of this, _all_ other clan members are viewed as 'lesser,' when you and I enter this room and lie down together, all of those boundaries fall away and we are simply two people sharing each others' affections. We are life partners…equal here, though in other places we must accept our other designations. Do not disrespect what is between us by imposing walls where there should be none."

He paused for a moment, thinking.

"I will respect that you do not wish to take me as of yet. Only know that, at such time as you wish to, that pathway is open, though others must, regretfully, remain closed. But when we are here, we will meet as equals, and when we make love, we will do so looking into each other's eyes."

Not leaving time for his cousin to object, he laced his fingers into Tetsuya's, captured his lips in a powerful kiss and entered him in a series of short, careful thrusts. Holding the dark blue eyes captive, he tightened his hands on Tetsuya's and continued to move atop him, feeding him hard, penetrating kisses, watching his expression soften and the pretty haze of arousal overtake his features. He slid his fingers down the braid he had made in Tetsuya's hair and explored the porcelain clip with reverent fingertips.

"B-b-yakuya-sama!" Tetsuya moaned, closing his eyes and straining against the strong body that held him down and pleasured him.

He disappeared into the blaze of heat around them, into the writhing motion of their joined bodies and the swell of burgeoning emotion all around them. And he found that he couldn't be angry at Byakuya for refusing him. It did make sense, what he was doing. In his love for his damaged cousin, Byakuya couldn't bear the thought of losing Tetsuya, and so despite not knowing for certain that the outcome of a pregnancy would be Tetsuya's death, he looked at the worst case scenario and decided it wasn't worth the risk. He wasn't Tetsuya and he couldn't take on Tetsuya's point of view. Though knowing that his broken cousin strongly desired to carry out the making of the one precious gift he could still give, he lacked the understanding of just how it felt to have grown up being forced down, oppressed and held back by those others…to be freed, but then to find himself held back again…this time, not by hatred, but by love…love so strong that Byakuya couldn't bear to risk it. Tetsuya loved him fiercely for that.

But as much as he loved and respected Byakuya for putting his well-being first, the truth of the emotion inside Tetsuya was inescapable. He had one gift left to offer…one last thing he could do to repay everything Byakuya had done for him. And he was resolved that Byakuya should have that gift…even at the risk to himself.

But how was he to make Byakuya listen?

How was he to make Byakuya understand?

As the pleasure peaked around them and their bodies raged in surrender, Tetsuya's heart began to despair that he would never be able to convince the clan leader to make their child. And what would he be then? He had once been Byakuya's fiercest protector…as strong as the Gotei 13 taichous and resolved that nothing would ever reach Byakuya…not as long as he was there.

Now, he was there, but the powers that had been his before were gone, Re-kuhime's voice stilled and the swell of his reiatsu drained away by the elders' wicked attempt to kill him. And in a way, they had done something much worse than killing him. They had made him useless to Byakuya. And although his cousin's love meant everything to him, he couldn't bear the thought of living out the rest of his days like a caged bird, who served no purpose and languished within the protections that kept it safe from the cat's paw. It was an insult to everything he had ever been to his cousin.

He couldn't be reduced to that.

It would kill him from the inside out.

So even as his naked, sated body rested calmly in Byakuya's arms, and his lover whispered his deep affection into Tetsuya's ear, the blood inside him raged hotly, until he could barely stand to endure it. And when Byakuya finally thought that he was asleep and left him alone in their room, he tore the gold band from his wrist and fled that place, dressed in only his yukata, his feet bare, and tears streaming down his proud face.

Arashi appeared before him and Tetsuya flew onto his back without thinking. The stallion squealed and reared, then shot out of the garden and onto the forest trail, his strong form moving faster than thought beneath his distraught master's poised body. Tetsuya left the direction to the madly running beast, his mind consumed with turning in slow, meandering circles, trying to make sense of the emotions raging inside him, to regain control and turn himself back in the direction of his home…his rightful place at Byakuya's side.

_I am more than this…this nothing I've become! More than a mere decoration. My powers are gone, but I still feel the rage in my heart, the ache in my body to fight. He wants to me to be quiet, to not take chances, to let him protect me, but it is not in my nature to do those things. Despite everything, my heart still longs for connection with a purpose…and left with only one that he will not allow me to fulfill, I am truly left without purpose. I have no purpose…and a man who has lost that is no longer a man…_

_He is nothing at all, but skin, blood, bones and a devastated heart._

_Byakuya…Byakuya, why don't you see that?_

He realized suddenly that Arashi had come to a stop. They stood at the edge of a lonely cliff, overlooking a clear blue lake, quite some distance from the manor. Tetsuya sniffed and brushed away the tears on his face, thinking that the place looked familiar, and that he was sure that he had been there before. He slid down off the stallion's back and stood beside him, his eyes cast out over the cliff and his heart as solemn as the blue waters beneath them.

"What is wrong with me, Arashi?" he said softly, "Why can't I just content myself with what I have? I have a wonderful home with Byakuya…comforts all around me. I have his love. Why isn't that enough? Why do I feel so empty?"

Arashi's warm muzzle nuzzled his cheek and the horse's mane tickled his skin. He curled an arm around the beast, burying his face in the stallion's mane and sighing softly in resignation.

"I must get past this…this awful feeling of uselessness," he whispered, "Byakuya has made it clear that he has no expectations for me, other than to remain with him and be his lover. This is not difficult. Even after what was done to me, I begin to feel more comfortable with being held and touched by him. But the fact remains that much has been left undone. The ones who hurt me, who killed my parents and Byakuya's…they still roam free, and continue to plot against us. They will move again soon, because of how Byakuya defied them and married me."

But he couldn't resolve in his mind, just how he was supposed to stop them, to prove what they had done, to make them pay. And every day that passed was one more day in which they could find a way to bring him down short of his goals.

He resolved not to let that happen.

But resolve alone would not yield the answers he needed. He thought about going to Yoruichi or Kisuke, but then thought better of it. Their allegiance to Byakuya would likely lead them to betray his plans to the clan leader. And Byakuya would, of course, act to protect him from his recklessness…

"Tetsuya-san," said a male voice from behind him, "What are you doing so far from Kuchiki Manor, and alone?"

He barely had time to turn as a huge eruption of power exploded around him, destroying the ground on which he and Arashi stood. The rock beneath them shattered and Tetsuya felt himself falling. He heard Arashi's terrified scream as they dropped down and plunged towards the water. They struck the surface of the water with shattering force and sank down into the blackness. Up on the ledge above them, Orochi watched to be sure that they did not surface. After several long minutes, he smiled, turned, and flash stepped away.


	15. Torn

**Chapter 15: Torn**

**(A/N**This is the last update before my vacation. I will try to escape to civilization once or twice to post what I write while I'm sitting by the campfire! It's a good day for driving...a little marine layer here, near the coast, though it will be hotter as we make our way through the central valley and up into the far northern part of California. I'm glad our car has air conditioning. Too bad our tent doesn't! LOL)**

Pain exploded through Tetsuya's shocked body, forcing the air out of him in a hard, distressed gasp. Icy black water closed in around him, quickly wrapping his body in darkness and silence. He lost awareness for several long moments, then felt his body struggle to breathe. Having already released his breath, his muscles contracted, struggling to draw in more. And as much as he knew to fight to reach the surface, his frozen body no longer yielded to his commands.

_Such hatred…such wickedness…_

_Why?_

_Why does he hate me so?_

_Why does he smile to know of my pain and destruction?_

_Why do they all?_

_Why?_

_And what made just one of my cousins stop and look directly at me? What made him see me? And why then, while I stood mourning my peasant mother and holding my father's hand? What made him value and nurture my strength and steady my heart, carrying me through the loss of my father, when I was left standing virtually alone against them? I thought that he gave me a purpose, one that went beyond avenging the murder of my parents. I grew strong and defended him with everything I had, as though my very life depended on it. _

_And so, it did…_

_And when I lost the ability to defend him, I lost my heart, the thing that underpins my strength. And Byakuya tried to heal me. He did everything to put me back together again. But my heart was too devastated. Because day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, I was shattered repeatedly as my heart reached out for her…the source of my power…and I could no longer hear her. But here…here in the depths of this place I finally remember…if there is anything left of her…_

_I will hear her…_

_call me…_

_Re-kuhime?_

The cold slowly faded away and all sensation left his body. It no longer moved or tried to breathe as he lay suspended in the depths of the lake. He knew and accepted that if she was truly gone, he was going to die here. Despite the threat of failure in his mission to make Orochi pay, he accepted that his failure and death would set Byakuya on the path to that goal. So, whether he lived or died, that need would be met. What mattered now was finding his path, learning with finality, the fate of his zanpakutou…and in turn, his own.

Because if Re-kuhime was truly gone, he would drown in these waters and be lost. But if there was anything of her left, she would feel his distress and she would come to him, breathe life back into him and help him to surface. He waited breathlessly, hung in darkness and silence, alone and seeking. He wondered if his eyes were open or closed and how far beneath the surface he lay.

His spirit reached out, his heart aching to feel that connection. And he did begin to sense something…to see…something long, slender and cut nearly through.

_Is that my…spirit ribbon? It is nearly torn through, but…_

"_Master?"_

Tetsuya's heart froze and he wondered if he could really be hearing her.

"_Re-kuhime? Are you…still with me then?" he asked softly._

"_I am with you, Master," she whispered in his mind, "But as you see, we were very nearly cut apart from each other. I can barely hear your voice."_

"_Can you lend me your power? Can you help me to surface?"_

"_I can keep you alive. I can lift you out of the water, but my power cannot flow through you. I am strong enough to manifest. I will help you."_

"_Arashi, is he…?"_

"_I have left him on the shore. He is alive, but badly injured."_

"_Can you save him? Can you heal him?"_

"_I can hold him away from death. I can do the same for you."_

Blue light began to glow around them, lighting the dark water and revealing the lake princess's lovely, flowing form where she hovered over him, her lips smiling.

"Kuchiki Tetsuya," she whispered, breathing life back into his frozen form, "You still have strength inside you. You can fight your way back."

She reached out and gently stroked the braid that Byakuya had made in his hair, then let her fingers run down the length to where the clip held it. She stared at the small clip, her eyes wide and smiling.

"He will come for you, Master. This clip is not just beautiful. It contains a small spirit beacon. He likely desired a way to sense you because your own reiatsu was depleted. This will lead him to you."

The water moved around them and Tetsuya felt a searching hand reach down into the water.

"He reaches for you. But the choice of whether or not to reach out for him is yours, Master. You must decide. And if you accept his hand, you must never let go of it. If you choose to fight, then you must never stop fighting."

"So…there is still hope for us?"

"Master, there is always hope."

Tetsuya reached up and touched the spirit's face lightly.

"Arigato," he whispered, "for helping me to find hope when it was lost."

"So…you choose to fight, Kuchiki Tetsuya?"

"Always," he breathed, reaching for Byakuya's extended hand.

He felt his cousin's hand wrap around his wrist and pull. The water around him resisted, as though loathe to release him, but the hand that held on to him refused to let go. And he felt his body being slowly brought out of the depths and back to the surface. Moments later, Byakuya dragged his body onto the shore and leaned over him, calling his name repeatedly, touching his face, and sending a jolt of kido through him. He felt his muscles contract, and he forcefully expelled the water that had flooded his lungs. Byakuya's arm wrapped around him, holding him as he coughed fitfully and drew ragged, choking breaths. Gradually, his body calmed, and he rested against Byakuya as his cousin breathed words of relief and affection in his ear, brushed the wet hair out of his eyes and kissed him until the warmth flooded his body again.

"A-arashi?" he managed.

Byakuya nodded and moved slightly so that Tetsuya could see the stallion's body resting on the shore near them. Tetsuya broke free of Byakuya and crawled to Arashi, sinking his fingers into the warhorse's tangled mane and bringing their faces close together. Arashi gave a weary sigh and nuzzled his cheek. They rested quietly against each other as Byakuya started a small fire on the shore and made hot tea. He said nothing as Tetsuya took swallows of the tea and looked back at him with guarded eyes. It was one of those times when, even knowing Byakuya as well as he did, he couldn't guess at what his cousin was feeling. Byakuya remained quiet, except for a few words here and there as he removed Tetsuya's wet clothing and wrapped a warm cloak around him. He moved closer, causing the warmth to radiate between the three of them. After a time, Arashi shook his head and climbed slowly back onto his feet. He took a few stumbling steps, then lowered his head and began to nibble at the long grasses on the shore of the lake. As the day faded and darkness came, Byakuya continued to rest quietly against his cousin, sharing his warmth and giving Tetsuya time to recover himself. But as night descended and he retrieved Tetsuya's fire-warmed clothing and helped him dress, he looked into his spouse's eyes expectantly, and when Tetsuya only looked back apologetically, he finally broke the silence.

"Are you all right now?" he asked softly, "You are not in any pain?"

"I am fine," Tetsuya replied, "Nothing was broken when we fell…and…Re-kuhime protected me from drowning when I lost consciousness. She also manifested and helped Arashi."

"So," Byakuya said, meeting his eyes, "she survives?"

Tetsuya nodded.

"But our connection is nearly severed. I can barely hear her voice and I cannot connect with her powers. Still, any connection with her…revives my hopes."

Byakuya nodded.

"We will go to Urahara taichou and have him look into this. If there is a way to mend the connection between you, then he will find it."

Tetsuya curled warmly into Byakuya's arms and rested his head on his cousin's shoulder. Byakuya sank his fingers into Tetsuya's hair, turning his head and bringing their mouths together for several long, slow kisses.

"Will you tell me what happened? Why you left? How you fell like that?" the clan leader asked, gazing into his cousin's wide blue eyes, "I know you were upset because I refused to make a child with you. I am sorry that my refusal hurt you so badly."

Tetsuya smiled sadly and shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault," he whispered, lacing their fingers together, "You were only doing what you felt was best. I have always before trusted in your view of things. I overreacted and we almost paid a horrible price for that."

"You were heartbroken because you mistakenly thought that my refusal meant that I did not want to have a child with you. I assure you, Tetsuya, that nothing could be further from the truth. And if not for the danger to you, I would already have made that child with you. Aishiteru yo…Tetsuya."

"You have my love as well," Tetsuya whispered, turning his face into his cousin's shoulder and breathing in his scent, "I understood you weren't trying to hurt me. There are no easy answers here. There never have been for us, Byakuya-sama."

Byakuya took Tetsuya's face in his hands and gazed into his eyes sternly.

"Stop doing that. Stop using words to distance yourself from me. I told you. We are equal when we lie down to partake of each others' bodies. When you call me that, it imposes a boundary that no longer has a place there. Byakuya…you will call me just Byakuya."

"Byakuya," Tetsuya sighed, closing his eyes and holding him tightly, "I am sorry. I was wrong to do that. I was wrong to leave as I did. I was wrong to despair. I may have lost my powers, but I am not weak. I will build my strength, and I will find a way to regain my place as your protector. My life is built around that. That is what Re-kuhime wanted to remind me of. I am not without hope."

"No," agreed Byakuya, "_We_ are not without hope."

He smiled at the return of trust to his cousin's dark blue eyes.

"And incidentally, you have not lost your place as my protector. It waits for you to reclaim it…whenever you are ready."

Tetsuya let out a skeptical breath.

"However long it may take, ne?" he said, shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter," Byakuya went on, fastening his gray eyes on Tetsuya's, "If it means that much to you to protect me, then let that motivate you to fight to regain the ability to do so."

"And if I cannot?" Tetsuya asked softly.

"Then you must content yourself with being my life partner and my lover. But whatever happens, I only ever want you by my side, Tetsuya. We have fought hard to reach this point together. So do not let despair take you away from me."

He leaned forward, lowering his cousin onto his back in the soft grass on the lakeshore. His hand found the tie at Tetsuya's waist and slowly bared their bodies as he plunged into his spouse's warm and welcoming mouth. Tetsuya's hands slid over his shoulders and down his muscular back, sending shivers of delight through him. They took hold of Byakuya's hips and encouraged them in their hard, hungry thrusts as he laid his heated and throbbing member against another as wet and needful as his own and rubbed them together, roughly. Tetsuya's legs wrapped tightly around Byakuya's body, his slender back arched and he strained against the clan leader's body as though longing to simply merge with him. He fed on his spouse's lips and tongue, his very breath as their bodies moved fitfully against each other.

Byakuya lifted himself slightly, taking his swollen member in his hand and bringing it to Tetsuya's entrance. He started to push his way in slowly, but loosed a shocked gasp as Tetsuya's body thrust hard upwards into his, taking in his entire length at once and loosing a wild cry that fell somewhere between pain and passion. There wasn't time to react as Tetsuya overthrew him and lifted his upper body away. The dark blue eyes flared with an intensity Byakuya had only seen when his cousin was about to deal a killing blow. A soft, blue glow surrounded him and Byakuya suddenly felt the touch of his reiatsu. It was faint, but unmistakable, and it left Byakuya's eyes misted and unfocused as Tetsuya's body writhed and danced atop his. And as he became entranced in his cousin's fierce blue eyes, he heard the soft voice of Tetsuya's zanpakutou, speaking, not to Tetsuya, but to him.

_"He returns to you a little more every day, Byakuya-sama. You can see it in his eyes and you can feel it in his body when you take him. I do not know if he will ever command my power again, but he will never stop fighting. And if you love him, then you will not ask him to."_

He felt the weight of the spirit's eyes resting on him.

_"My master has made a difficult request of you, one that you have refused out of love for him, and a desire to protect his life. But his fate is tied to the one he would make with you…and the time for binding is now. Place the band on his wrist and allow him to move forward."_

_"But he will die. Even Urahara taichou says that…"_

_"Hear me, Byakuya-sama, I have insight into his possible futures and although this path could lead to his death, it is the only one that also offers hope for his full restoration. You must trust me. Trust us. I would not ask you to risk the life of my master if it was not necessary. Remember that I live and die with him. Place the band on his wrist. Now…before the moment is lost!"_

A pale, trembling hand fell away from Tetsuya's hip and found the discarded clothing that lay on the ground beside them. Byakuya's eyes closed as his fingers found the slim golden band. He withdrew it slowly, still watching as Tetsuya's body swayed hypnotically atop his and the fiery blue eyes held his captive. His mouth opened in surprise and he froze on top of Byakuya, staring in astonishment as Byakuya's hand found his and slid the band into place. Neither moved for a long, breathless moment, then Tetsuya blinked slowly, as though coming out of a dream. He took a soft breath.

"Why?" he asked in a whisper, "Why did you change your mind?"

Byakuya sat up slowly and Tetsuya moved with him so that he remained astride his cousin's body.

"You have never one who sought his fate by hiding from it. You face it boldly, sometimes recklessly, but I have heard the voice that calls you to move forward and I have heard the wisdom she speaks."

"_She_ spoke to you?"

Byakuya nodded.

"She tells me that while it is true that to make a child will certainly threaten your life, she senses that making a child now will somehow shift the winds of fate in your direction. It is a move as bold and reckless as any you have ever made, Kuchiki Tetsuya. But if it is the pathway to your full return, then we must take that path together…and we must not leave it again until your powers return."

Tetsuya gave him a troubled smile.

"Byakuya…I do not want to burden you with guilt. I know you would have me live longer, even if that means sacrificing my powers."

"But I will lose you anyway if I do not do everything possible to help you. I love you. And that means that if I hold you back from this, I will only hate myself more as I have to watch as you slowly wither and die. I won't allow our love to end that way. If I must lose you, then I will watch you die with pride in your eyes, Tetsuya. But I do not believe that you are going to die. I won't let you."

Tetsuya lowered his lips to touch Byakuya's gently.

"And I won't leave you. I swear it," he promised.

Tetsuya's glowing sapphire eyes locked on his and his body began to move again. He rose and fell on Byakuya's length, his eyes misting as he felt the hand of fate approaching. Byakuya wrapped his hands around his lover's slim hips and made their movements quicken. He rested his face against Tetsuya's shoulder and forced down his fears, fighting tears that threatened as their pleasure peaked and their bodies shuddered warmly in release. He held them off as Tetsuya's mouth found his again and buried it in soft, affectionate kisses. Only after his lover lay quietly sleeping on his chest did he silently loose them.

_"You did right by my master,"_ whispered Re-kuhime's voice, _"Whatever happens now, you must make peace with it. We do not want you to suffer, Byakuya-sama."_

"Then do not leave me," Byakuya whispered back.


	16. The Long Way home

**Chapter 16: The Long Way Home**

Tetsuya woke the next morning to find himself warmly wrapped in Byakuya's heavy cloak and pressed up against Arashi's body. The warhorse turned his head as the blue-eyed shinigami stirred, and gave a low snort, admonishing him for rising so unusually late. He smelled something cooking and lifted his head, looking around and finding Byakuya kneeling next to a roaring fire several feet away. His cousin returned to him a few moments later and set hot tea and a plate bearing warmed bread with butter and a few different types of wild berries at his side. He sat down near Tetsuya with his own plate and began to eat.

"You came prepared," noted Tetsuya, eyeing the large amount of food on his plate and smiling affectionately.

"I picked up a few things on my way out of the manor," Byakuya commented, sipping at his tea, "but there wasn't time to take more as I was anxious to reach you."

"Even so," said Tetsuya, taking a bite of the bread, "Arashi will not be able to carry me if I eat this much at every meal."

Byakuya trained a solemn gray eye on him.

"It is well documented that the initial stage of gestation requires an increase in the intake of nutrients and calories. As the seed and reiatsu bonds and divides to create the reiatsu cluster, the reaction draws on the systems of the gestating Breeder, necessitating additional food intake."

"Ah, I see," Tetsuya replied, hiding a smirk.

He ate small bites, watching until Byakuya had finished his food and turned away, to offer some of his meal to Arashi. The warhorse nibbled at the food and snorted derisively as Byakuya turned towards them again and Tetsuya hastily reclaimed his plate.

"You see," commented the clan leader, looking at his cousin's nearly empty plate, "Your appetite has already increased."

"Hah, yes, I see," the blue-eyed shinigami responded, finishing off the last of the bread as Arashi glared at him in annoyance.

He met Arashi's eyes and shook his head slightly.

"Have you had a chance to check Arashi's back and legs?" he asked, changing the subject, "He seemed rather sore when he got up this morning."

"He is still too lame to carry us," answered Byakuya, "We can spend another day here and see how he is tomorrow."

"But he's not too lame to walk, himself, ne?" asked Tetsuya, "And I am quite capable of walking. And certainly, a bit of exercise would not hurt me."

"No," agreed Byakuya, "but I thought that perhaps it would be best, after the fall you took…"

"I am fine," Tetsuya insisted, "You worry too much, Byakuya. Re-kuhime protected me from being too damaged when I fell. You examined me afterward and you said yourself that I seemed remarkably undamaged for such a fall."

"We need to speak about that," Byakuya said meaningfully, "I went up to the ledge from which you fell and found reiatsu markers all about…masked, of course, but they were there. Tetsuya, that ledge did not simply collapse beneath you and Arashi. It was destroyed with a kido blast. I want you to tell me who fired it."

Tetsuya's blue eyes met his blankly.

"Who fired it?" he repeated softly, biting at his lips and thinking quickly.

_If I tell him Orochi was the one, then Byakuya will go after him on my behalf. He will do it to protect me, but he could destroy my chance to bring Orochi down in my own way._

He swallowed hard and took a soft breath.

"I was turned away. I never saw the person who fired it," he said quietly.

"You sensed nothing? The person said nothing?"

Tetsuya shook his head.

"Everything happened very suddenly."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed.

"And Arashi did not sense the person either?" he asked, the words sending a chill of warning through Tetsuya, "That seems odd."

_He suspects I know more…so what do I say?_

"Arashi may have turned," he said, looking over at the stallion, "I d-don't remember exactly. He may have seen."

"That might explain why the blast struck the ledge and not the two of you directly," Byakuya concluded, "Either that or the person hoped to conceal the fact that this was a deadly attack and not an accident at all."

He gazed quietly at Tetsuya and his cousin looked back and nodded briefly.

"I'm afraid my mind is still a bit muddled," Tetsuya said, rising, "I'm sure walking in the fresh air will clear things up a bit. In any case, I want to get back home. I was stupid to run off like that, Byakuya. I really am sorry."

The affection in Byakuya's eyes sent a jolt of guilt through him.

"It was understandable," Byakuya said, meeting his gaze warmly, "You have endured a great deal…and I am not just speaking about the attack that made you into a Breeder, Tetsuya. Even before that, much of your life involved others taking away choices that were meant to be yours. And perhaps my desire to protect you wasn't wrong, in and of itself. But where it interfered with your choices, I certainly should have given your thoughts more consideration."

"What are you talking about?" Tetsuya asked, shaking his head, "You are clan leader. That gives you the right to make those choices, irrespective of…"

"No," Byakuya said decisively, "No one will tell you how to live your life, Kuchiki Tetsuya. We are married, and that means that where our life together is concerned, we will make those decisions together. It may be that in some things I will have to have the last word, but this involves your future. I cannot simply shut that door the way I did. I invited what happened. It was not your attackers who broke your heart this time, Tetsuya. I did that by not respecting what is between us."

"Please, Cousin," Tetsuya said, his head spinning with regret, "Can we…can we just…go home? I am over my emotional outburst and ready to be more sensible now."

"Are you?" Byakuya asked, smiling, "I happen to think that this is not the last outburst we will encounter in our association, watashi no koi."

Tetsuya shook his head and whistled for Arashi, then stood, leaning against the warhorse as Byakuya put out the fire and readied himself to leave. They walked back slowly, stopping now and again to rest in the cool shade, and for Byakuya to examine Arashi's injuries and infuse them with healing power. As they made their way up the set of switchbacks to the top of the waterfall, Arashi nudged Tetsuya, then nipped at his shoulder and whickered softly.

"Feeling better?" Tetsuya asked, "That was a quick recovery, ne? But I think I would like to walk the rest of the way, if you don't mind. Feel free to go on ahead, if you like."

He swatted the warhorse on the rump and Arashi broke into a trot, leaving Byakuya and Tetsuya walking alone.

"Arigato, for healing him, Byakuya," Tetsuya said, slipping a hand into his spouse's and squeezing it lightly.

Byakuya nodded and tightened his hand in Tetsuya's. They said no more, but traversed the forest trail in silence, listening to the sounds of the birds, their feet on the trail and the soft sounds of their breathing.

_This is wrong,_ Tetsuya thought, guilt flooding him and leaving him aching inside, _Our losses were ours, not just mine. For me to keep this from him is the same as him trying to make my choices for me. I have to find a way to tell him. We should be doing this…finding my attackers and the ones who killed our parents, together. That's what marriage is meant to be. I disrespect our union by not being honest with him. I will tell him I…_

His thoughts were interrupted as they entered the gates and the house guards greeted them quickly. Tetsuya was touched by the relief in their eyes as the two entered the gardens, and he thanked each of them for their concern. As they entered their bedroom and Michi appeared and quickly set about examining him, Tetsuya cooperated quietly and focused on planning how exactly to explain what he had been concealing. Byakuya would not be happy, to be sure, but once the truth was said, then they could begin to work together on bringing his assailants and their parents' killers to justice. He smiled and thanked the old healer as he turned to leave, then dropped off to sleep, his mind still trying to find a way to say the words.

_I am so sorry for hiding things from you, Byakuya. I do not want the trust between us to be broken…_

XXXXXXXXXX

"How does he look?" Byakuya asked quickly as Michi left the bedroom and joined the clan leader in his study.

"He looks quite healthy, for someone who was nearly murdered and then subjected to what he was. But his systems are showing signs of stress. It could be the ordeal out there at the lake, or…"

"I have impregnated him," said Byakuya, "The initial stages of a Breeder's gestation often place stress on his systems, I know. But would you say that this falls in the range of normal, or…?"

"Oh, for having been recently impregnated, it is normal enough," Michi assured him, "but I must admit, I am surprised, not only that you went ahead with his impregnation, but that he weathered the intimacy so well. After what happened to him…and what Orochi-san put him through while he was…"

"What Orochi put him through?" Byakuya queried, his eyes narrowing, "What are you talking about?"

Michi swallowed hard and his eyes widened.

"B-byakuya-sama, I…I thought that he would have told you! I only know, myself because I am acquainted with Orochi-san's healer. I…"

"Michi, what did Orochi do to Tetsuya? Tell me!" Byakuya asked sternly.

"W-well, I…Nobu, the healer at Orochi-san's manor came to relay information you requested from him about Tetsuya-san, and in the course of that, he mentioned that upon arriving at his home, Orochi-san launched into a tirade. Tetsuya-san stood quietly and did not object, but then collapsed and did not wake for three days! And when he did wake and Orochi-san learned he had left his chambers without permission, he tied Tetsuya-san naked to his bed and threatened him, then left him bound and alone like that for the entire night. Sir…you mean that Tetsuya-san did not…?"

"No," sighed Byakuya, "I imagine he worried about how I would react and was attempting to simply endure."

He shook his head and sighed again.

"Arigato, Michi. If you have no more to report, you may go."

"I have only one more thing to report, Byakuya-sama. And that is that Tetsuya-san will need to remove the seal holding off the reiatsu around him. I can fit him with a gentler limiter, but the developing child will need to be able to radiate growing amounts of reiatsu. Tetsuya-san is stronger, and should be able to tolerate having a limiter instead of the full seal he has had up to this point."

"But the seal is also a form of protection for him," Byakuya objected, "Under the seal, he cannot be attacked with anything reiatsu based. The seal nullifies it."

"But it will also nullify the developing child's reiatsu," Michi said, shaking his head, "You must remove the seal and use a limiter instead. He will simply have to be more cautious. And I would suggest having a bodyguard to attend him at all times. In addition to having assailants who appear to still be interested in seeking his death, Tetsuya-san is likely to have a very difficult pregnancy."

"What is going to happen?" asked Byakuya.

"Right now, you may have noticed how he returned home and went right to sleep. He will need more sleep, as the reiatsu is rendered within him. As the reiatsu takes root within him, he may experience power surges…the child's power, not his…causing his own centers to pulsate. They are damaged already, so it will be painful, and it could cause additional damage. The limiter will mitigate this to some extent, but it is still risky. As his pregnancy progresses, he will likely thicken in the abdomen, not as much as a female, as the reiatsu will be in a cluster and will not solidify until after it emerges. He may have dizzy spells and losses of consciousness, anxiety, nausea and vomiting, much the same as a female. He will need to tell me immediately if he experiences any sharp pains or severe symptoms. Urahara taichou said that he will arrange for Tetsuya-san to also be examined regularly by the hollow Breeders in Hueco Mundo. They will have actually been through his situation and so will have the best idea if he begins to transition into a hollow. If the transition begins, we must immediately take him to the hollow Breeders and inform Urahara taichou. There are a few things we can do to stave it off, but Urahara-san and the leader of the Breeder hollows are still working on what to do to prevent it altogether. I will send a hell butterfly to Urahara taichou now to let him know Tetsuya-san's current condition and we will go from there."

"Very well," Byakuya said in a low, distracted tone, "Arigato, Michi. I will go in and remain with Tetsuya for now, and in the morning, I will assign him a bodyguard."

"Here is the limiter," Michi said, handing Byakuya a small metal wristband.

Byakuya took the device wordlessly and left the healer, then walked out into the gardens and stared down into the koi pond, in his mind's eye seeing his cousin kneeling at the water's edge, dressed in a sleeping yukata and sprinkling food onto the surface of the water.

_Why didn't you tell me? What he did to you was horrible. I could kill him! But perhaps that is why you didn't confide in me. I think I understand, Tetsuya, but this has to stop! You cannot face these things alone, and you shouldn't feel that it's necessary for you to do so. But what can I do to make you understand? What can I do?_

He walked back to the bedroom doors and looked in at his cousin, admiring his calm, peaceful expression.

_Making our child has offered you some respite from the darkness around you, but there will be threats from without and within as we move forward. Tetsuya, we need to be able to trust each other with everything! It is the only way to overcome whatever comes at us._

He noticed suddenly that Tetsuya's eyes had opened and his lover was looking up at him. The wide blue eyes looked oddly troubled, and Tetsuya sat up and moved to the edge of the bed as Byakuya sat down next to him.

"Byakuya, I am glad you came back," he said softly, "There are…some things that I think I should tell you."

Byakuya met his eyes in silence.

"I must apologize, watashi no koi, I did not mean to keep things from you, but…I did not know how to tell you. Even now, it is difficult. But if we are to come through what we face…we must trust each other. So…I will trust you with this. I will trust that you will hear it, and that when I am finished, that we will come to agreement on what to do next."

"Tetsuya," Byakuya said softly, "I know already."

"What?" asked Tetsuya, his face going pale.

"Michi is friends with Nobu, Orochi's healer. Nobu told Michi…"

"He told you?" Tetsuya gasped, "He told you about the dagger? And that Orochi killed your father? He told you?"


	17. The Revelation

**Chapter 17: The Revelation**

**(Warning...non-con sex, violence)**

_"I must apologize, watashi no koi, I did not mean to keep things from you, but…I did not know how to tell you. Even now, it is difficult. But if we are to come through what we face…we must trust each other. So…I will trust you with this. I will trust that you will hear it, and that when I am finished, that we will come to agreement on what to do next."_

_"Tetsuya," Byakuya said softly, "I know already."_

_"What?" asked Tetsuya, his face going pale._

_"Michio is friends with Nobu, Orochi's healer. Nobu told Michio…"_

_"He told you?" Tetsuya gasped, "He told you about the dagger? And that Orochi killed your father? He told you?"_

Byakuya froze at the words, his body carefully composed, but his eyes intense.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice calm and deadly.

Tetsuya blinked in confusion.

"Byakuya, what were you talking about?" he asked, his voice shaking as Byakuya's reiatsu rose threateningly.

"Our house healer is acquainted with Nobu, Orochi's healer. And Nobu revealed to Michio that Orochi launched into a tirade upon your arrival and you collapsed and slept for three days."

"Yes," admitted the blue-eyed shinigami, "but…he didn't…do anything really, to harm me."

"You don't call being stripped and tied naked to your bed, being left unable to see whether or not you are alone, and left in doubt as to who might come into the room and what they might do as you lie there, helpless…_anything_?" Byakuya said, the tension in his voice rising.

Tetsuya flinched and his heart quickened.

"And now, in addition to his mistreatment of you, you admit that he killed my father?" the clan leader said, his voice low and commanding, "You need to tell me how you learned of this…and you must tell me _everything_, Tetsuya! I need to know everything. My father died in a hollow attack. There was never any question or a need for investigation. It was witnessed by Orochi and three other family members!"

Byakuya stopped himself forcefully, his eyes widening in realization.

"Byakuya, wait," said Tetsuya, placing a hand on his arm, "Before you do anything, just realize that even if it is true about what he did to your father, you are _not_ the only one Orochi hurt! That dagger I mentioned? The one I brought back from Orochi's home…Byakuya, that dagger was the one that the leader of my attackers used to cut away my hair. And that wasn't even the beginning of what he did to me. I am on the way to finding out the identities of all eight of my attackers! But if you go after Orochi now, even if you stop him, the others will get away. And I may never have the chance to reclaim my honor…my place!"

"Tetsuya," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I understand your need to find justice. I do. But you are no longer a shinigami. You are a Breeder. And you are also with child…"

"Don't do this!" Tetsuya cried, his eyes flaring fitfully, "Don't you _dare_ look me in the eyes and tell me that I'm too weak! I may not be a shinigami anymore and I may have no powers, but I still believe that I can do this! I can identify every one of those bastards and make sure they will not walk away free after what they did to us! I already know some of those involved, and once I have identified all of them, I…"

"What?" Byakuya asked softly, his eyes looking out the open garden doors, "You will go after them and fight them? Pregnant and with no powers? Tetsuya, don't you worry about what will happen to our child if you are injured or killed? Is your desire for revenge so strong that you will forget that we are bringing a new life into the world?"

Tetsuya inhaled sharply and gave Byakuya a stricken look.

"Of…of course not, Byakuya," he answered unsteadily, his palm moving until it rested on his abdomen, "I am as much in love with you as you are with me. And I will, of course, put our child's safety first. It will take time to identify all of my assailants, and the ones who set our parents up to die. We have time while we await the birth of our child. But don't you see, that if you go after Orochi now, then we may never identify all of the guilty ones? Please, Byakuya, I know what it is to want to tear him apart. My heart raged against him when I learned of it. And no, I have not forgiven, nor forgotten everything that foul beast has done to me, nor what he has done to you. And I swear as I live and breathe, we will bring him to justice! He will pay for everything he has done, but we have to do this the right way! And we have to do this together! I will…take care of myself. I will make sure that our baby is born healthy. And after that, I will be there when we take down Orochi and all of the ones who helped him! Just tell me that you will wait to go after him. Tell me you won't shove me into a safe little corner and protect me like some stupid little china doll while you do all of this yourself! I _know_ I am weak and useless, and that my chances of living through this pregnancy are about as good as my chances of being made clan leader! I will probably turn into a hollow and you may have to kill me yourself!" Tetsuya exclaimed, tears rising in his eyes, "But this is not a choice, Byakuya. Those bastards took something from us and _with kami as my witness_, we are going to take it back!"

He froze, catching his breath as Byakuya turned suddenly and brought him down on the bed, covering his cousin's mouth with his.

"B-byakuya!" Tetsuya hissed, struggling as he was held down and kissed roughly again, "I am _not_ going to let you…"

Byakuya's tongue thrust in between his parted lips and curled around Tetsuya's, slowly and deliberately stroking and caressing it into silence. He met the sapphire eyes warmly, opening his tempestuous spouse's yukata and then baring himself, then descended on Tetsuya's mouth again.

"This…isn't going to work," insisted Tetsuya between kisses, "Byakuya…you can drown me in kisses, but it…still won't…"

"I am not trying to distract you," Byakuya said, looking into his eyes and giving him a fleeting, heart melting smile, "It is just that this is the closest you have been to the person I remember since all of this happened, Tetsuya."

Tetsuya hesitated, looking up into Byakuya's affectionate gaze and wanting to stay angry, but unable to hold on to the emotion as the clan leader's eyes held him in place and Byakuya's hands slid down the contours of his slender body, awakening his desire and quickly leaving him incapable of objection. Byakuya's mouth invaded his and plundered it furiously, leaving Tetsuya flushed and panting.

"B-byakuya," he whispered, "Promise me…promise me that you will wait. Promise me that we will find the evidence we need together…that we will end their treachery…t-together!"

Byakuya ran his fingers down the long braid and gently stroked the clip he had placed in his spouse's hair. He looked into his cousin's determined eyes and flushed face and found it impossible to refuse. A soft sigh left him and he kissed Tetsuya more slowly.

"Do you know where this came from?" he asked quietly, touching the clip again.

Tetsuya looked down at the clip and shook his head.

"It was my father's gift to my mother when they became engaged. He told me that when he gave her this clip, they made a solemn promise to each other."

He paused for a moment to brush the clip lightly against his cheek.

"They promised to always love and honor each other…to respect and care for each other…and to listen to each other like friends, because they were friends, long before they were lovers."

Tetsuya's eyes widened and softened as Byakuya's lips brushed against his again.

"We were friends first also, Tetsuya. As much as I took care of you when you were left alone, you also took care of me…listening and understanding…offering comfort and advice, unconditional love and loyalty. And that is why I never want to hear you say that all you can offer me is this child you carry. You offer me far more than you realize, with or without your powers. So…in honor of all we are to each other, I will promise you that we will see to the healthy birth of our child, and then we will work together to bring your attackers, and my father's assassin to justice."

Byakuya's breath was taken away at the smile of gratitude that lit Tetsuya's face.

"Thank you, Byakuya," Tetsuya whispered, blinking back tears, "This means everything to me. _You_ mean everything to me. I know that we have _so_ much to face, but when I'm with you…when we are together, I really feel like everything will be all right. I should be frozen with fear, knowing that I could be hollowfied, or lose our child…or come to any number of dreaded fates. But fate seems to have a gentler hand when we face it side by side. And I choose to believe that we will find a way. I will be cured of this travesty, and we will have a healthy child…and when we have, we will hunt down the ones who put this all in motion…and they will pay for what they have done…to you, to me, and to everyone else they hurt!"

"Then," said Byakuya, gazing into Tetsuya's blue eyes and loving him passionately for the strength he found there, "If you can find the strength to keep believing in our fate, I will hold on to my faith too. So we agree…that for now, we will focus solely on keeping you safe and finding a way to cure you and protect our baby. The rest will come after…and no matter what the outcome of our efforts, the ones who did this will pay, Tetsuya. It doesn't matter how long it takes. They will pay."

Tetsuya lifted himself and curled a hand around Byakuya's face as the clan leader sat up and leaned back against the pillows. He kissed his older cousin's lips lightly.

"Arigato Byakuya. Thank you for everything. Please allow me to show you my gratitude."

He leaned forward and made a line of soft kisses down the side of Byakuya's face, then dipped beneath his cousin's chin, kissing and tasting, and brushing his fingertips against the sensitive skin of his throat before working his way downward. Byakuya's breath shortened and he opened a curious gray eye to watch as Tetsuya's warm mouth attacked one pink nipple, then trailed a line of wet, biting kisses over to the other. His fingernails ran lightly down the long torso, teasing Byakuya into shivers of delight and making him yield a soft, delighted moan. His fingers sank into Tetsuya's hair, encouraging him to move lower, and his blue-eyed cousin kissed his way down the soft abdomen, teasing Byakuya's navel with a wicked tongue. He paused and let out a breath, heating Byakuya's already flushed length, then he lowered his head and wrapped his mouth around his spouse's waiting erection. He caught his breath in shock as a memory shattered his focus, and his mind shot back into the past.

_"Ah…!" he gasped, straining against the kido ropes that held him in place, "Who are you? Why are you d-doing th-this?"_

"_I told you to shut up!" snapped a rough, hissing voice._

"_Maybe we should give his mouth something else to keep it busy, ne?" said another distorted voice._

_Fingers sank into his hair and twisted until he shook with the force of holding back a scream of pain._

"_He's still fighting too hard. Give him more."_

_Something cool invaded the blood in his sword arm and he found himself left horridly lucid, but unable to move. His head was dragged back as several men around him laughed, then his mouth was forced open and invaded by a large, swollen cock. His thighs were roughly parted and another man entered him from behind. A sea of other hands gripped him tightly as the two men coordinated their thrusting so that the impact of the body behind him forced him down onto the aroused member that filled his mouth. He wanted desperately to bite down, but couldn't move because of the drugs in his system. The man behind him laid down on his back and brought his lips to Tetsuya's ear._

"_This is all you are good for, half-breed…just a place for your master to put his cock and plant his seed. You are nothing anymore. But I'll do you a favor. I'll make sure you don't suffer for too much longer."_

_The man on his back continued the harsh thrusting until pleasure overtook him and his hot release flooded the body of the man restrained beneath him._

"_You feel that, half-breed? That is the ticking time bomb. That is what's going to explode inside you and make you die. You think you hurt now…just wait. You'll become a hollow. And your dear clan leader will be forced to kill you again!"_

_The attacker whose length was in his mouth, pushed in deeply and Tetsuya choked and gasped for breath until his ears rang and his body convulsed, struggling for air._

"_Oh there, you've gone and knocked him out. He's not even going to feel it as it kills him."_

"_Sorry."_

"_You'd better be. I was looking forward to hearing him beg for a merciful death."_

"Tetsuya!"

Byakuya's voice broke into the flashback, yanking him roughly back into the present. He found himself braced on hands and knees on the bed, suspended over Byakuya, his body rigid and shaking uncontrollably. He breathed in shuddering gasps and sweat dampened his skin all over his naked form.

"Tetsuya, are you…?" Byakuya began, sitting up and reaching out to pull him close.

Tetsuya collapsed against his cousin's shoulder, tears running down his shocked face and harsh, silent, quivering sobs racking his body.

"Kuchiki-sama?" said Torio's voice from the doorway.

"Get Michio," Byakuya said, gently setting Tetsuya's yukata back in place and holding his stricken cousin against him.

"Tetsuya, please say something," Byakuya pleaded softly, "I need to know you are all right!"

But Tetsuya remained leaned against his shoulder, the awful images from his memory flashing again and again across his stunned mind.

"Tetsuya!"

Michio appeared in the room and sat down next to Tetsuya. He conducted a quick examination.

"How did this happen. What was happening when he became like this?" he asked softly, slipping a hand into Tetsuya's and squeezing gently.

"We…we were about to make love. I don't understand. We have been together a few times since it happened and except for the day of the verification ritual, he has handled our intimacy well."

The healer met his eyes sympathetically.

"I believe you," he said, shaking his head sadly, "However, flashbacks can occur suddenly, usually triggered by something that he remembers from that day. It can even be something relatively benign that just happens to bring things back. It is not your fault, Kuchiki-sama. It was bound to happen."

"Can you do something to calm him?" asked the clan leader, "He is terrified. He won't talk to me."

"That too, is to be expected," acknowledged Michio, "He may well fall into silence again for a while. But do not worry. I can give him something to calm him…and over time these panic attacks will fade."

He leaned forward and gave Tetsuya an injection. The blue-eyed man shivered at the sting of the needle, then settled more firmly in Byakuya's arms and closed his eyes.

"He will be all right, Kuchiki-sama," Michio assured him, "We knew that he would have a difficult recovery."

Byakuya nodded, but his heart ached inside his chest.

_I knew that it would be difficult, yes…but I didn't think that I would be the one to make it worse!_

_I am sorry, Tetsuya…so sorry!_

_I am sorry…_


	18. Delineations of Beauty

**Chapter 18: Delineations of Beauty**

Tetsuya felt the odd sensation of one coming out of a dark tunnel and returning into bright light. He caught his breath and groaned uncomfortably. A voice cut through the fog in his mind, and he felt that he was in bed and sitting up, with his back resting against his cousin's bared chest. The back of his head rested against Byakuya's shoulder, and he could feel that his cousin's arms were wrapped around him.

"Tetsuya?"

After the long silence, the voice sounded overly loud and echoed strangely. He felt a flash of disorientation, then intense nausea. He tore free of his cousin's arms and turned towards the bathroom, but gasped in dismay as his legs instantly gave way and he started to fall. Byakuya was there in a moment, his echoing voice saying something about going back to bed. Tetsuya tried to form words, but couldn't seem to force any out. He placed a hand on his abdomen and froze, staring at the small bump that had formed on his abdomen. He tried again to speak, but was overwhelmed with sickness. His stomach clenched, then convulsed and he barely managed to grab and position a small wastebasket in front of him, before his stomach heaved and he expelled its contents violently.

His ears buzzed and lights seemed to flash around him. Byakuya's voice was unintelligible, but his hands took hold of Tetsuya and coaxed his senseless cousin back into bed. Byakuya leaned over him, placing his hands on Tetsuya's bared chest and abdomen, sensing his spirit centers and feeding then a gentle stream of calm, healing reiatsu. The voice in his ear faded and he slept for a time. He woke and emptied his stomach again, less violently, then fell into a deep sleep. And as he slept, soft whispers reached into his hazed mind.

_"He is through the worst of it now, Kuchiki-sama. But he may continue to have relapses. When he does, the bonding I showed you can ease it to some extent. As soon as he wakes, you must encourage him to eat. The reiatsu cluster is healthy, but his own systems are showing signs of strain. And we do not want him to start showing signs of a hollow transition."_

"_I will see to it that he eats properly," Byakuya promised._

Tetsuya felt the bed move and opened his eyes. His vision slowly cleared and Byakuya's handsome and worried face came slowly into focus.

"Tetsuya," the clan leader said, bringing his face close to Tetsuya's, but stopping short of kissing him, "It is good to see you awake again."

"H-how…long?" Tetsuya managed, his voice sounding odd and disjointed.

Byakuya's eyes filled with relief.

"You were unconscious for two days, then senseless and silent for a week. I was worried, but you will be all right now."

Tetsuya gave him a weak smile.

"I…think…tea would be good."

"And some hot soup?"

Tetsuya's smile widened.

"And perhaps…a sizable serving of warm, freshly made bread."

A gentle, pleasant twinge tickled his insides at the pleased look that Byakuya gave him. Tetsuya reached for him and kissed him on the cheek, then on the lips. He felt hesitation in his spouse and looked into Byakuya's calm, gray eyes. He felt a pang of guilt at the worry he found there.

"Byakuya," he said softly, "You can kiss me. I will not break. I am sorry that I worried you, but…"

Byakuya met his blue eyes warmly and ran his fingers through the short, wispy strands of his cousin's slowly growing hair.

"I am sorry if my reticence hurts you, Tetsuya, but understand…we were making love when you had this setback. And although I do not blame myself for your condition, I am concerned about causing more of these situations."

"How could you not be?" Tetsuya said, his eyes reflecting understanding, "But if the alternative is to be without your love, I would risk the setbacks willingly. And in any case, I will not heal more quickly by avoiding all situations that cause me pain. Byakuya, the setbacks are painful, but…they are also a sign of healing."

Byakuya gazed at him for a long moment, then let out a long breath and nodded in agreement.

"But, we cannot blunder forward recklessly. We must approach our couplings with more caution. I will rely on you to let me know when you have dark feelings. You must be honest, both with yourself and with me, Tetsuya. You must promise not to overexert yourself in your attempts to accommodate me."

Tetsuya smiled and nodded in reply.

"I will be cautious, and I will be honest with you."

"And to be certain that our lovemaking does not result in what happened the last time, I am going to follow your lead. If you are up to being with me, then I will respond to you. And if you feel the darkness closing in around you, you need only say the word and we will stop."

Tetsuya smiled and curled into his spouse's strong arms, breathing in the soft, sweet sakura scent and rubbing his face against the pleasingly soft skin of Byakuya's naked throat and shoulder.

"Agreed," he said quietly.

They rested in each others' arms as food and tea were prepared and brought to them, then ate slowly, enjoying the fresh breezes that came in through the garden doors as the sky clouded up and the rain began to fall again.

Tetsuya set his empty plate on the nightstand and sank down under the blankets, sliding out of his yukata and smiling as Byakuya's equally bared body wound around his. He closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle play of his spouse's hands over the warm expanses of his pale flesh and the feel of Byakuya's lips as they trailed kisses down the length of his spine. He captured the clipped braid and ran his fingers down its length, then used the strands at the end to gently tease the tender flesh of Tetsuya's throat and shoulder as his lips captured an earlobe and sucked it provocatively.

"Byakuya," Tetsuya sighed, closing his eyes, "I love the way you touch me…but…it makes me ache for more."

He felt the instant reticence in his lover's hands and turned onto his back.

"I want you inside me," he whispered against Byakuya's lips.

"But," the noble said, looking into his cousin's hungry blue eyes, "You only just woke from…"

"I know," Tetsuya said, linking Byakuya's lips and coaxing him into a soft storm of deep, wet kisses, "But that didn't happen because of you. It happened because Orochi, and a group of hateful others desecrated my body. Where they tormented my flesh with cuts and strikes, you soothe it with your fingertips…your lips…your tongue. Where their hatred burned a pathway into my core and poisoned it, you bring the softer flow of healing that makes that poison disappear. Where they poured their hatred into my ears and broke my heart, your words melt warmly over the scattered remains and mend it. You are nothing like them, and my heart…deep down, knows that. It only needs you to help it remember. Byakuya, touch me, and help me to remember what love feels like!"

Tetsuya's insistent hand wrapped around his husband's wrist and lifted it, bringing Byakuya's fingers to his cousin's parted lips. Byakuya sighed as Tetsuya's mouth closed around them, and he watched as the large blue eyes drifted shut and that sweet mouth bathed them in saliva. Tetsuya smiled and opened his eyes again as they slid out of his mouth and down the length of his slender torso, stopping to tease an erect, pink nipple and dipping into his navel as they descended.

Byakuya leaned over Tetsuya, running a wet finger around the ring at his entrance and falling on a hungry mouth that only seemed to exist to devour his. He pushed inside slowly, watching his cousin's hazy eyes for any hint of pain. Tetsuya moaned and raised his hips, seeking friction against the lovely body that rested partway on top of his. Byakuya pulled away for a moment, then descended on his cousin's flushed and leaking arousal, sucking it into his mouth, letting it slide partway out, tormenting the slick head with a hot, devilish tongue, then sucking hard again and making Tetsuya's hips rise off the bed, as he pushed a second finger inside and teased the sensitive cluster of nerves there.

"B-bya…kuya!" Tetsuya moaned, his lovely eyes taking on a feverish, desirous shine and his fingers sinking into his spouse's hair,

He pushed down on Byakuya's head to encourage the up and down motion and thrust gently into his lover's sucking mouth. Byakuya rose and fell on his length and his fingers gently prepared his cousin, as he watched the pleasure spread across Tetsuya's features, his chest heaving softly and his body quivering with approaching bliss.

He withdrew his fingers and positioned himself at Tetsuya's prepared entrance, watching his cousin's face carefully as he entered him. Tetsuya's contented smile widened, and he wrapped his legs around his lover's torso as Byakuya's mouth found his, and the clan leader's powerful hips began thrusting. Tetsuya moaned and arched upward into each heavy thrust, his eyes going dark and glazy. His breath shortened and his body quivered again as Byakuya's hand wrapped around his thickened member, pumping it in time with the motion of their bodies, until Tetsuya's body seized, and hot seed pulsed onto their naked skin. Byakuya thrust in deeply, assaulting Tetsuya's mouth with hard, penetrating kisses as he held himself inside and emptied himself into his cousin's heated core.

They fell still, panting softly and watching and listening to the rain that poured down outside the open garden doors. Tetsuya rolled onto his stomach, smiling as Byakuya sprawled across his back, resting his face between his shoulder blades and continuing to gently explore him with caressing hands and slow, searching fingertips.

"Thank you, Byakuya," Tetsuya sighed, "Thank you for helping me to erase the awful things that they did. Every time you touch me…every time we make love, the memory gets farther and farther away. I hope a day will come when I can forget…when I will regain my powers and win back what was taken…if…if that is possible."

Byakuya made a line of warm kisses along the back of his neck.

"I believe it is possible," he said into the pale shell of an ear, "Your body may have been weakened by what they did to you, but your heart is still strong, Tetsuya. And it is your relentless heart that will get you through this, and help you regain your powers."

He broke off as footsteps sounded on the walkway, moving in the direction of their room. The two men sat up and tied their yukatas back in place, watching as Urahara taichou appeared outside the door.

"Urahara taichou," Byakuya said in greeting.

"Sorry to intrude," Kisuke said, stepping into the room, "But I have news. I have spent a lot of time with the hollow Breeders, and I have made some advances in learning how to stave off the hollow transition. I will have to give Tetsuya periodic injections of a compound we created to hold his body in a stable balance. It isn't a cure but it will help."

He removed a syringe from his clothes and sat down on the bed next to Tetsuya. The blue-eyed noble flinched as the needle bit into his flesh, then settled again and leaned quietly against Byakuya as Kisuke went on.

"I also checked every reference I know of, hollow and shinigami…even sent Yoruichi into your archive to research, but we found no references to anyone ever being able to repair a torn soul ribbon. It doesn't mean there's not an answer, but as soon as Tetsuya has delivered your baby, we will need to explore that more."

He glanced at Byakuya questioningly.

"How is the pregnancy progressing?" he asked.

"Everything is going smoothly now," Byakuya reported, "The healer did have to switch him from the full seal you gave us to a gentler limiter to accommodate the child, but as long as Tetsuya is not having reactive episodes, the baby's reiatsu is remaining stable and he is tolerating the pregnancy well. However, the healers are worried about the level of stress his body is under. If it remains within a manageable range, things will progress well, but should anything add to the pressures he is under…"

"Yeah," said Kisuke, "It's like walking on a tightrope. It's a good thing that your cousin has good balance and is so determined, ne?"

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, nodding.

"I have a few references I want to run down while I'm here. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind joining me down in the archive."

Byakuya glanced at Tetsuya.

"Do you think that you can manage to stay out of trouble while I am gone, Cousin?" he asked smirking.

Tetsuya gave him a look of gentle reproach.

"I will lie here and content myself with watching the rain fall," he said, frowning, "I do not think that I will get into any trouble whilst doing that."

He watched as Byakuya and Kisuke left, then dropped back down onto his stomach, turning his head to the side to watch the rain fall. His eyes drooped sleepily and he drifted off for a time. Byakuya was still gone when he woke sometime later, and the rain continued to fall steadily. He heard a soft, lonely neigh from the direction of the barn and sighed in frustration.

"I know, Arashi," he whispered, "I feel restless too."

He tried to relax, but heard Arashi sounding again and climbed out of bed. He slipped a heavy, hooded cloak around his shoulders and moved towards the doors. Stepping out onto the walkway, he looked around, and seeing no sign of Byakuya, he started out into the rain, crossing the gardens and passing through the back gate. He walked the wet, forest trail up as far as the barn and hurried inside. Arashi gave a soft nicker of welcome and nuzzled him as he stepped into the stall.

"What has you so restless?" he asked softly, "You've never been anxious about storms."

He picked up a currycomb and slowly groomed the horse, humming softly as he worked, and smiling as Arashi relaxed and seemed to doze off. He took his time combing out his mount's tangled mane and tail, leaving them silken and shining.

"There, is that better?" he asked, looking into a calm, blue eye, "Were you worried about me? Well, I'm fine. As fine as I can be, considering…"

Arashi lowered his head and nuzzled Tetsuya's cheek, letting out a sweet, hay scented, huffing breath.

"But there is still a ways to go," he said, resting a hand on his abdomen, "But we'll stick together. We'll put things right."

Tetsuya returned the grooming supplies to their shelf and refilled Arashi's supplies of hay and water, then patted the stallion and left the barn, starting back through the falling rain. His heart was in a lighter mood as he made his way along the dark, forest trail and back into the gardens. He heard voices as he entered the gardens, and stopped as he heard his name.

"It's awful what they did to him," said one male voice, "Just awful. He was so powerful. He could have been a taichou."

"Now he walks around here, looking like a ghost, and as weak as a kitten," said a second male voice, "He used to be Kuchiki-sama's greatest protector. Now…"

"I heard he is pregnant with Kuchiki-sama's child."

"Yes, it's quite the miracle. I'm sure that it is a relief to him that he is still able to serve Kuchiki-sama in some respect…although it's tragic to see him reduced to that…a child bearer…a Breeder. He used to be so much more…"

Tetsuya felt a flare of anger inside and bit his lip gently. He raised his hand and studied the limiter for a moment, then slipped quietly across the gardens and back into the bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking into the mirror on the wall, staring at the short, uneven wisps of raven black hair, the large blue eyes that had once radiated strength and pride, but now only looked sad and lost, and the too slender body that had once been strong, but was now pitifully weak.

"Just a child bearer…a Breeder," he whispered, placing a hand on his abdomen and blinking away tears.

"Tetsuya?" Byakuya said questioningly as he re-entered the room and saw his cousin staring into the mirror with tragically sad eyes, "Tetsuya, are you all right? Did something happen?"

He sat down beside his cousin, looking at their reflections.

"How can you love me, now that I'm like _this_?" Tetsuya whispered.

Byakuya wrapped his arms around Tetsuya, bringing his cousin's head to rest on his shoulder.

"Watashi no koi," Byakuya said, holding him tightly, "You are beautiful to me…_just like this_!"


End file.
